1983 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1983 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Hawkeyes, led by head coach Hayden Fry, were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa finished the season 9–3 (7–2 Big Ten), capped by a loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl.

1983 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Gator Bowl, L 14–6 vs. Florida
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 14
1983 record	9–3 (7–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Snyder (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Brashier (5th season)
MVP	Norm Granger Chuck Long Dave Moritz
Captain	Norm Granger Jon Roehlk Dave Strobel
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium

1983 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Illinois $	9	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	8	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Iowa	7	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Ohio State	6	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	5	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Michigan State	2	–	6	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Indiana	2	–	7	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	at Iowa State*	No. 16	Cyclone Stadium Ames, Iowa (Cy-Hawk Trophy)	ABC	W 51–10	54,066
September 17	at Penn State*	No. 13	Beaver Stadium University Park, Pennsylvania		W 42–34	84,628
September 24	No. 3 Ohio State	No. 7	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa	CBS	W 20–14	66,175
October 1	at Illinois	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Champaign, Illinois		L 0–33	73,351
October 8	Northwestern	No. 15	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa		W 61–21	66,125
October 15	Purdue	No. 14	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa		W 31–14	66,105
October 22	at No. 10 Michigan	No. 12	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, Michigan	ABC	L 13–16	104,559
October 29	Indiana	No. 17	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa		W 49–3	66,055
November 5	at Wisconsin	No. 15	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, Wisconsin (rivalry)		W 34–14	78,105
November 12	at Michigan State	No. 12	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, Michigan		W 12–6	72,528
November 19	Minnesota	No. 11	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, Iowa (Floyd of Rosedale)		W 61–10	66,160
December 30	vs. No. 11 Florida*	No. 10	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, Florida (Gator Bowl)	ABC	L 6–14	81,293
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Roster

1983 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 78 John Alt Sr OL 69 Mike Bennett So WR 27 Bill Broghamer OT 61 Dave Croston Fr RB 33 Owen Gill Jr FB 26 Norm Granger (C) Sr QB Tom Grogan Sr OT 79 Mike Haight So OG 68 Tim Hanna Sr WR 40 Bill Happel So RB 31 Ronnie Harmon So TE 34 Jonathan Hayes So WR 87 Scott Helverson So C 53 Joel Hilgenberg Sr TE 86 Mike Hufford Sr OG 65 Tom Humphrey So RB 42 Treye Jackson OT 55 Joe Levelis Sr QB 16 Chuck Long So WR 5 Dave Moritz Sr TE 83 Lon Olejniczak Sr RB 22 Eddie Phillips Sr OG 66 Jon Roehlk (C) Sr QB Mark Vlasic Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 29 Nate Creer So DL 64 Paul Hufford Jr DB 14 Keith Hunter Jr DT 77 George Little Jr DE 98 George Millett So DB 21 Devon Mitchell So DB 45 Jay Norvell So DL 50 Hap Peterson So LB 38 Kevin Spitzig Jr LB 36 Larry Station So DB 41 Mike Stoops Jr DE Dave Strobel (C) Jr DL 51 Bill Weires So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P/K 3 Nichol Tom Jr	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Snyder – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Bill Brashier – Defensive Coordinator Kirk Ferentz – Offensive line Carl Jackson – Running backs Del Miller – Offensive assistant Dan McCarney – Defensive line Barry Alvarez – Linebackers Don Patterson – Defensive Backs Bernie Wyatt – Defensive Ends/Recruiting Coordinator Bill Dervich – Strength and Conditioning Bob Stoops – Graduate assistant Bruce Kittle – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Iowa	Alma mater
Hayden Fry	Head coach	5th	Baylor (1951)
Bill Brashier	Defensive Coordinator	5th	North Texas State (1952)
Bill Snyder	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	5th	William Jewell (1963)
Dan McCarney	Defensive Line	7th	Iowa (1975)
Barry Alvarez	Linebackers	5th	Nebraska (1969)
Don Patterson	Tight Ends	5th	Army (1973)
Carl Jackson	Running Backs	5th	Prairie View A&M (1963)
Kirk Ferentz	Offensive Line	3rd	Connecticut (1978)
Del Miller	Offensive assistant	6th	Central (IA) (1972)
Bernie Wyatt	Defensive Ends/Recruiting Coordinator	10th	Iowa (1962)
Bill Dervrich	Strength and Conditioning	4th	West Chester State (1975)
Bob Stoops	Graduate Assistant	1st	Iowa (1983)

[2] [3]

Five of the staff would go on to become the winningest head coaches at five different programs: Snyder (Kansas State), Alvarez (Wisconsin), Stoops (Oklahoma), McCarney (Iowa State) and Ferentz (Iowa)

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	16	16	13	7	4	15	14	12	17	15	12	11	10	10	10	14
Coaches	20	17	12	6	3	14	13	12	17	14	9	11	10	10	10	14

[4][5]

Game summaries

at Iowa State

#16 Iowa at Iowa State
Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 17 14 6 14 51 Cyclones 0 3 0 7 10 Date: September 10 Location: Cyclone Stadium, Ames, Iowa Game attendance: 54,066 TV announcers (ABC): Curt Gowdy and Lee Grosscup Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 IOWA Granger 24-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) Iowa 7–0 1 IOWA Nichol 42-yard field goal Iowa 10–0 1 IOWA Gill 31-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 17–0 2 IOWA Gill 2-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 24–0 2 ISU Bachrodt 36-yard field goal Iowa 24–3 2 IOWA Gill 1-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 31–3 3 IOWA Long 2-yard run (kick failed) Iowa 37–3 4 IOWA Gill 3-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 44–3 4 IOWA Jackson 6-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 51–3 4 0:58 ISU Posey 65-yard pass from Hood (Bachrodt kick) Iowa 51–10

This was the first of 15 straight wins in the series for the Hawkeyes.

• Owen Gill 16 Rush, 136 Yds, 4 TD

[6]

at Penn State

#13 Iowa at Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 14 0 21 7 42 Nittany Lions 7 14 7 6 34 Date: September 17 Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania Game attendance: 84,628 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 PSU DiMidio 9-yard pass from Strang (Gancitano kick) PSU 7–0 1 IOWA Phillips 1-yard run (Nichol kick) Tied 7–7 1 IOWA Gill 4-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 14–7 2 PSU Jackson 7-yard pass from Strang (Gancitano kick) Tied 14–14 2 PSU Strang 1-yard run (Gancitano kick) PSU 21–14 3 IOWA Phillips 26-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) Tied 21–21 3 PSU Baugh 18-yard pass from Strang (Gancitano kick) PSU 28–21 3 IOWA Long 5-yard run (Nichol kick) Tied 28–28 3 IOWA Granger 23-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 35–28 4 IOWA Harmon 77-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 42–28 4 PSU Nichols 7-yard run (pass failed) IOWA 42–34

[7]

Ohio State

#3 Ohio State at #7 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Buckeyes 7 0 0 7 14 • Hawkeyes 3 0 10 7 20 Date: September 24 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game attendance: 66,175 Television network: CBS Sources: Box score and Game story, Box score

Scoring summary 1 8:12 IOWA Tom Nichol 25-yard field goal IOWA 3–0 1 1:43 OHST Keith Byars 1-yard run (Spangler kick) OHST 7–3 3 12:09 IOWA Mike Hufford 16-yard pass from Chuck Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 10–7 3 3:34 IOWA Tom Nichol 47-yard field goal IOWA 13–7 4 4:25 IOWA Dave Moritz 73-yard pass from Chuck Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 20–7 4 2:21 OHST Broadnax 4-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Spangler kick) IOWA 20–14

The Hawkeyes earned their first win over the Buckeyes since 1962.

[8] [9] [10]

at Illinois

#4 Iowa at Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 0 0 • Fighting Illini 17 10 0 6 33 Date: October 1 Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois Game attendance: 73,351 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 ILL C. White 30-yard field goal ILL 3–0 1 ILL Brookins 54-yard pass from Trudeau (C. White kick) ILL 10–0 1 ILL Benson 12-yard pass from Trudeau (C. White kick) ILL 17–0 2 ILL D. Williams 6-yard pass from Trudeau (C. White kick) ILL 24–0 2 ILL C. White 20-yard field goal ILL 27–0 4 ILL C. White 47-yard field goal ILL 30–0 4 ILL C. White 45-yard field goal ILL 33–0

The Hawkeyes – ranked #3 in the Coaches poll and #4 in the AP poll – could not break through on this day in Champaign. Illinois would go on to win the outright Big Ten title by finishing 9-0 in conference play.

[11]

Northwestern

Northwestern at #15 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Wildcats 0 7 7 7 21 • Hawkeyes 17 17 14 13 61 Date: October 8 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game attendance: 66,125 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 IOWA Long 1-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 7–0 1 IOWA Olejniczak 18-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 14–0 1 IOWA Nichol 45-yard field goal IOWA 17–0 2 NW Schwab 9-yard run (Duvic kick) IOWA 17–7 2 IOWA Phillips 3-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 24–7 2 IOWA Phillips 8-yard run (Nichol kick) Iowa 31–7 2 IOWA Nichol 32-yard field goal IOWA 34–7 3 IOWA Moritz 19-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 41–7 3 NW Edwards 5-yard run (Duvic kick) IOWA 41–14 3 IOWA Harmon 60-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 48–14 4 IOWA Smith 86-yard pass from Grogan (Nichol kick) IOWA 55–14 4 IOWA Helverson 15-yard pass from Robertson (kick failed) Iowa 61–14 4 NW Harvey 6-yard pass from Burton (Duvic kick) IOWA 61–21

The Hawkeyes set a Big Ten record with 713 yards of total offense.

• Chuck Long: 23-33, 420 yards, 4 TD (1 rushing)

[12]

Purdue

Purdue at #14 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Boilermakers 7 7 0 0 14 • Hawkeyes 7 17 7 0 31 Date: October 15 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game attendance: 66,105 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 Purdue Campbell 1-yard run (Clark kick) Purdue 7-0 1 IOWA O. Gill 2-yard run (Nichol kick) Tied 7-7 2 Purdue Scott 12-yard pass from Campbell (Clark kick) Purdue 14-7 2 IOWA Long 5-yard run (Nichol kick) Tied 14-14 2 IOWA Nichol 47-yard field goal IOWA 17-14 2 IOWA Smith 55-yard punt return (Nichol kick) IOWA 24-14 3 IOWA O. Gill 1-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 31-14

[13]

at Michigan

#12 Iowa at #10 Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 3 0 10 13 • Wolverines 3 3 7 3 16 Date: October 22 Location: Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan Game attendance: 104,559 TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson & Frank Broyles Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 MICH Bergeron 37-yard field goal Michigan 3-0 2 MICH Bergeron 20-yard field goal Michigan 6-0 2 0:53 IOWA Nichol 56-yard field goal Michigan 6-3 3 MICH Rogers 4-yard run (Bergeron kick) Michigan 13-3 4 IOWA Olejniczak 3-yard pass from Grogan (Nichol kick) Michigan 13-10 4 IOWA Nichol 27-yard field goal Tie 13-13 4 0:08 MICH Bergeron 45-yard field goal Michigan 16-13

[14]

Indiana

Indiana at #17 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Hoosiers 0 3 0 0 3 • Hawkeyes 21 7 7 14 49 Date: October 29 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game attendance: 66,055 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 IOWA O. Gill 16-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 7-0 1 IOWA Moritz 20-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 14-0 1 IOWA Long 11-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 21-0 2 Indiana Smith 41-yard field goal IOWA 21-3 2 IOWA E. Phillips 18-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 28-3 3 IOWA O. Gill 2-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 35-3 4 IOWA Moritz 11-yard pass from Grogan (Nichol kick) IOWA 42-3 4 IOWA Helverson 10-yard pass from Robertson (Nichol kick) IOWA 49-3

• Dave Moritz – 11 receptions, 192 receiving yards, 2 TD

[15] [16]

at Wisconsin

#15 Iowa at Wisconsin
rivalry Game

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 14 13 7 0 34 Badgers 0 0 0 14 14 Date: November 5 Location: Cyclone Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin Game attendance: 78,105 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 1 IOWA E. Phillips 2-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 7–0 1 IOWA R. Harmon 12-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 14–0 2 IOWA Moritz 12-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 21–0 2 IOWA Hayes 20-yard pass from Long (pass failed) IOWA 27–0 3 IOWA M. Hufford 6-yard pass from Long (Nichol kick) IOWA 34–0 4 WIS Al Toon 44-yard pass from Wright (Rohde kick) IOWA 34–7 4 WIS Harrison 11-yard run (Rohde kick) IOWA 34–14

• Chuck Long – 4 TD passes
• Eddie Phillips – 162 Rush yards, TD

[17]

at Michigan State

#12 Iowa at Michigan State

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 0 3 9 0 12 Spartans 0 0 0 6 6 Date: November 12 Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan Game attendance: 72,528 Sources: Box Score and Game Story

Scoring summary 2 IOWA Tom Nichol 39-yard field goal IOWA 3-0 3 IOWA Tom Nichol 40-yard field goal IOWA 6-0 3 IOWA R. Harmon 9-yard pass from Chuck Long (pass failed) IOWA 12-0 4 MSU Phil Parker 30-yard blocked punt return (kick failed) IOWA 12-6

[18]

Minnesota

Minnesota at #11 Iowa
Battle for Floyd of Rosedale

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 0 7 0 3 10 • Hawkeyes 17 17 7 20 61 Date: November 19 Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa Game attendance: 66,160 Sources: Box score

Scoring summary 1 IOWA E. Phillips 80-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 7-0 1 IOWA Tom Nichol 25-yard field goal IOWA 10-0 1 IOWA Phillips 9-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 17-0 2 IOWA Tom Nichol 22-yard field goal IOWA 20-0 2 IOWA O. Gill 41-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 27-0 2 IOWA R. Harmon 25-yard pass from Robertson (Nichol kick) IOWA 34-0 2 MINN Starks 66-yard pass from Sadek (Gallery kick) IOWA 34-7 3 IOWA R. Harmon 22-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 41-7 4 IOWA Phillips 1-yard run (kick failed) IOWA 47-7 4 IOWA N. Granger 65-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 54-7 4 MINN Gallery 42-yard field goal IOWA 54-10 4 IOWA R. Harmon 11-yard run (Nichol kick) IOWA 61-10

The Hawkeyes rolled up a school-record 517 yards rushing against the Gophers. Three Iowa backs went over 100 yards, led by Eddie Phillips with 172 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ronnie Harmon had 75 yards and 2 touchdowns on only 4 carries, and also caught a touchdown pass.

[19]

vs. Florida (Gator Bowl)

#10 Iowa vs. #11 Florida

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 3 3 0 6 • Gators 7 7 0 0 14 Date: December 30 Location: Gator Bowl Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida Game start: 8:13 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3:17 Game attendance: 81,293 Game weather: 35°F, Clear, Wind N 7 mph Referee: James Garvey TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels & Frank Broyles

Scoring summary 1 0:40 UF Neal Anderson 1-yard run (Raymond kick) Florida 7-0 2 5:45 IOWA Tom Nichol 32-yard field goal Florida 7-3 2 1:08 UF Drew fumble recovery in end zone (Raymond kick) Florida 14-3 3 11:00 IOWA Tom Nichol 31-yard field goal Florida 14-6

[20]

Awards and honors

Team players in the 1984 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
John Alt	Tackle	1	21	Kansas City Chiefs
Joel Hilgenberg	Center	4	97	New Orleans Saints
Norm Granger	Running Back	5	137	Dallas Cowboys
Joe Levelis	Guard	6	166	Dallas Cowboys
Dave Moritz	Wide Receiver	10	275	San Francisco 49ers

[21]

References

1. "1983 Iowa Hawkeyes Schedule and Results". sports-reference.com.
2. "THE BASE OF THE TREE: HAYDEN FRY'S 1983 COACHING STAFF". blackheartgoldpants.com. SB Nation. June 20, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
3. "Stoops, Ferentz and the legendary '83 Iowa staff's impact on 2015 CFP race". ESPN. November 18, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
4. "Iowa 1983 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com.
5. "16 Iowa". Sports Illustrated. September 1, 1983. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
6. "Iowa unveils its state-of-the-art offense". Chicago Tribune. September 11, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
7. "IOWA DEFEATS PENN STATE, 42-34". The New York Times. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
8. "IOWA DEFEATS OHIO STATE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 21 YEARS". The New York Times. September 24, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
9. "No. 7 Iowa's Passes Beat No. 3 Ohio State, 20-14". Washington Post. September 24, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
10. McCallum, Jack (October 3, 1983). "SUDDENLY, THE 'EYES HAVE IT". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
11. "Illinois shocks No. 3 Iowa, 33-0". The Salina Journal. October 2, 1983. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
12. "Iowa 61, Northwestern 21". The Day. October 9, 1983. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
13. "Iowa 31, Purdue 14". The Paris News. October 16, 1983. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
14. "MICHIGAN EDGES IOWA ON LATE KICK". The New York Times. October 23, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
15. "Inept Indiana humiliated at Iowa". Indianapolis Star. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
16. "Moritz triggers Iowa romp: Hawkeyes hit Indiana early in 49-3 triumph". The Gazette. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
17. "Iowa rolls by Wisconsin". The Pantagraph. November 6, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
18. "Big 10 roundup: Iowa 12, Michigan State 6". Chicago Tribune. November 13, 1983. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
19. "Iowa rushes to Gator Bowl berth". Chicago Tribune. November 20, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
20. "Gator Bowl to Florida, 14-6". The New York Times. December 31, 1983. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
21. "1984 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com.