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1981 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Big Ten Co-Champions
Rose Bowl, L 28-0 vs. Washington
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 18
1981 record8–4 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coachHayden Fry
Home stadiumKinnick Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#15/12 Ohio State § 6 2 0     9 3 0
#18/15 Iowa § 6 2 0     8 4 0
#12/10 Michigan 6 3 0     9 3 0
Illinois 6 3 0     7 4 0
Wisconsin 6 3 0     7 5 0
Minnesota 4 5 0     6 5 0
Michigan State 4 5 0     5 6 0
Purdue 3 6 0     5 6 0
Indiana 3 6 0     3 8 0
Northwestern 0 9 0     0 11 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1981 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Hawks were 6–2 in conference play and were Big Ten Conference co-champions. Iowa went to the Rose Bowl for the first time in 23 years. Their previous appearance in the 1958 season, when Iowa won the 1959 Rose Bowl. It was also Iowa's first winning season since 1961. This time Iowa had a more difficult time, shutout by Don James's Washington Huskies , 28–0. The Hawkeyes finished the 1981 season at 8–4.

Schedule[]

Date Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 12* #7 Nebraska Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA W 10-7   60,160
September 19* at Iowa State Cyclone StadiumAmes, IA (Cy-Hawk Trophy) L 12-23   53,922
September 26* #6 UCLA Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA W 20-7   60,004
October 3 at Northwestern #18 Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL W 64-0   30,113
October 10† Indiana #15 Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA W 42-28   60,000
October 17 at #5 Michigan #12 Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI W 9-7   105,915
October 24 Minnesota #6 Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale) ABC L 10-12   60,000
October 31 at Illinois #16 Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL L 7-24   66,877
November 7 Purdue Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA W 33-7   60,114
November 14 at Wisconsin Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI ABC W 17-7   78,731
November 21 Michigan State #19 Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA W 36-7   60,103
January 1* vs. #12 Washington #13 Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) NBC L 0-28   105,611
*Non-Conference Game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

[1]

Like all Big Ten teams in 1981, Iowa played eight conference games, missing one opponent.
Iowa did not play Ohio State in 1981; OSU was also 8-3 and 6-2 in the Big Ten to tie for the conference title. The Buckeyes won their bowl game, the 1981 Liberty Bowl over Navy, and finished at 9-3.

Season summary[]

UCLA[]

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
UCLA 0 7 0 0 7
Iowa 7 0 3 10 20
  • Date: September 26
  • Location: Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa

[2]


Michigan State[]

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
Michigan St 0 7 0 0 7
Iowa 16 0 10 10 36
  • Date: November 21
  • Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
  • Game attendance: 60,103

Iowa earns first Rose Bowl since 1958 with Michigan's loss to Ohio State, which was announced with 6:14 left in the first quarter. [3]

Statistics

  • Phil Blatcher 27 Rush, 247 Yds [4]


Team players in the NFL[]

The following 1981 Iowa Hawkeyes were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft:

Player Position Round Pick NFL Club
Ron Hallstrom G 1 22 Green Bay Packers
Andre Tippett LB 2 41 New England Patriots

[5]

References[]

  1. http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=160&season=1981
  2. Palm Beach Post. 1981 Sept 27.
  3. Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Nov 22.
  4. Iowa Hawkeyes athletics website.
  5. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1982.htm
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