1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

American college football season

1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Commings (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Coyer (4th season)
MVP	Dean Moore, Rod Sears
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 9 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Indiana	4	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	6	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa during the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	Northwestern	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 24–0	53,725
September 17	Iowa State*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	ABC	W 12–10	59,725
September 24	Arizona*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 7–41	53,110
October 1	at UCLA*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		W 16–34 (forfeited by UCLA)	35,636
October 8	Minnesota	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)		W 18–6	57,640
October 15	No. 5 Ohio State	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 6–27	60,070
October 22	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	L 21–34	62,443
October 29	at No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		L 6–23	104,617
November 5	Indiana	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 21–24	49,620
November 12	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)		W 24–8	71,763
November 19	Michigan State	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 16–22	43,700
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		James Arkeilpane
G	`61`	Doug Benschoter
WR	`88`	Mike Brady
QB		Bobby Commings Jr.	Fr
RB	`28`	Jesse Cook	Sr
OL		Rich Cunningham
TE		Doug Dunham
WR		Jim Frazier
QB		Jeff Green
C	`54`	Jay Hilgenberg	Fr
G	`56`	Jim Hilgenberg
RB	`31`	Joe Hufford
FB	`44`	Jon Lazar	Jr
WR		Chris Mackey
OL		Mike Mayer
RB		Dean McKillip
QB	`11`	Tom McLaughlin	Sr
RB		Rod Morton	So
RB	`18`	Dennis Mosley	So
OL		Sam Palladino
QB		Doug Piro
WR		Brad Reid	So
RB		Tom Renn
RB	`37`	Ernie Sheeler	Sr
TE		Jim Swift	So
RB		John Thomas
OT	`72`	Barry Tomasetti	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`9`	Dave Becker
DB		Shanty Burks
DB		Charles Danzy
DL		John Harty
DL		Darrell Hobbs
DL		Joe Hufford
LB	`43`	Mike Jackson
DL		Mark Mahmens
DL	`83`	Jim Molini	So
LB	`85`	Dean Moore	Sr
LB	`47`	Tom Rusk	Jr
CB	`19`	Rod Sears	Sr
DB		Cedric Shaw
DB		Chuck Sodergren
CB	`38`	Roger Stech
DE	`45`	Steve Vazquez	Jr
LB		Leven Weiss

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P		Dave Holsclaw	So
K		Scott Schilling	Fr

Head coach

Bob Commings

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Jim Caldwell (GA)
Larry Coyer (DC)
Tom Hayes (DB)
Dan McCarney (GA)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2021-Jan-03

Game summaries

Northwestern

Northwestern at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	0	0	0	0
• Hawkeyes	0	10	7	7	24

Date: Saturday, September 10
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 53,725
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), clear skies, wind NW 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)

Source: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary

2	14:58	IOWA	Arkeilpane 1-yard run (Schilling kick)	IOWA 7-0

2	0:01	IOWA	Schilling 41-yard field goal	IOWA 10-0

3	6:22	IOWA	Lazar 10-yard pass from Commings (Schilling kick)	IOWA 17-0

4	0:49	IOWA	Brady 18-yard pass from Commings (Schilling kick)	IOWA 24-0

^[1]

Iowa State

#19 Iowa State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cyclones	7	3	0	0	10
• Hawkeyes	12	0	0	0	12

Date: Saturday, September 17
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 59,725
Game weather: ~75 °F (24 °C), Overcast, Wind S 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)
TV announcers (ABC): Ara Parseghian

Source: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary

1	ISU	Buck 63 yard punt return (Kollman kick)	ISU 7-0

1	IOWA	Mosely 77 yard run (kick failed)	ISU 7-6

1	IOWA	Lazar 10 yard run (run failed)	IOWA 12-7

2	ISU	Kollman 42 yard field goal	IOWA 12-10

^[2]^[3]

Arizona

At UCLA

^[4]^[5]

Minnesota

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	0	0	6	6
• Hawkeyes	0	6	9	3	18

Date: October 8
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 57,640
Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), Cloudy, Wind NW 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h)

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Buckeyes	3	10	7	7	27
Hawkeyes	0	0	0	6	6

Date: October 15
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 60,070

At Michigan

Iowa at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hawkeyes	0	0	0	6	6
• No. 6 Wolverines	7	7	7	2	23

Date: October 29
Location: Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game attendance: 104,617

Scoring summary

1	MICH	R. Davis 63-yard pass from Leach (Willner kick)	Michigan 7-0

2	MICH	G. Johnson 6-yard pass from Leach (Willner kick)	Michigan 14-0

3	MICH	White 32-yard pass from Leach (Willner kick)	Michigan 21-0

4	IOWA	McLaughlin 1-yard run (run failed)	Michigan 21-6

4	MICH	Safety, McLaughlin tackled in end zone	Michigan 23-6

At Wisconsin

Iowa’s 24–8 triumph in Madison started an 18–game unbeaten streak (17–0–1) against the Badgers.^[6]

Michigan State

Michigan State at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Spartans	17	0	3	2	22
Hawkeyes	0	10	3	3	16

Date: Saturday, September 19
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 43,700

Source: Game recap

Scoring summary

1		MSU	Steve Smith 10-yard run (Nielsen kick)	MSU 7-0

1		MSU	Earley 2-yard pass from Smith (Nielsen kick)	MSU 14-0

1		MSU	Nielsen 45-yard field goal	MSU 17-0

2		IOWA	Jim Swift 25-yard pass from Tom McLaughlin (Holsclaw kick)	MSU 17-7

2		IOWA	Holsclaw 47-yard field goal	MSU 17-10

3		MSU	Nielsen 19-yard field goal	MSU 20-10

3		IOWA	Holsclaw 48-yard field goal	MSU 20-13

4	12:14	IOWA	Holsclaw 51-yard field goal	MSU 20-16

4		MSU	Safety	MSU 22-16

^[7]

Team players in the 1978 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Dean Moore	Linebacker	9	233	San Francisco 49ers
Barry Tomasetti	Tackle	10	278	Dallas Cowboys

^[8]

References

^ "It's no dream! Hawks win 24-0" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 12, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ "Hawkeye defense silences Cyclones" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 19, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
^ Bingham, Walter (September 26, 1977). "AN END TO THE BICKERING". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
^ "UCLA stymies Iowa" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 3, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
^ "Pac-10 Declares Five Members Ineligible". The Washington Post. August 12, 1980. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
^ "Hawks cash in on Badger mistakes" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 14, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
^ "Hawks come up short in exciting finale" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 21, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.

v t e Iowa Hawkeyes football
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