1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Sun Bowl, L 7–17 vs. Arizona State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Hayden Fry (19th season)
Offensive coordinator	Don Patterson (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bob Elliott (2nd season)
MVP	Tavian Banks Kerry Cooks Jared DeVries Tim Dwight
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Michigan $		8	–	0					12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 15 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	3
Wisconsin		5	–	3					8	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Northwestern		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		1	–	7					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					2	–	9
Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes played their home games at Kinnick Stadium and were led by coach Hayden Fry.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	11:30 am	Northern Iowa*	No. 20	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 66–0	66,325
September 13	1:00 pm	Tulsa*	No. 18	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 54–16	64,893
September 20	2:30 pm	at Iowa State*	No. 13	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA (Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy)	ABC	W 63–20	50,066
September 27	11:30 am	Illinois	No. 11	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	W 38–10	70,397
October 4	2:30 pm	at No. 7 Ohio State	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (College GameDay)	ABC	L 7–23	92,536
October 18	11:30 am	at No. 5 Michigan	No. 15	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 24–28	106,505
October 25	11:00 am	Indiana	No. 18	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 62–0	70,397
November 1	11:30 am	No. 18 Purdue	No. 15	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	W 35–17	70,397
November 8	11:30 am	at Wisconsin	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–13	79,864
November 15	11:30 am	at Northwestern	No. 22	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	L 14–15	40,838
November 22	1:00 pm	Minnesota		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Floyd of Rosedale)		W 31–0	64,591
December 31	1:30 pm	vs. No. 16 Arizona State*		Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 7–17	49,104
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Roster

1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 22 Tavian Banks Sr FB 85 Michael Burger Jr WR 4 Ricchard Carter Sr WR 88 Tony Collins So OL 67 Chad Deal So WR 6 Tim Dwight Sr TE 80 Zeron Flemister So WR 18 Damon Gibson Sr OL 79 Mike Goff Sr TE 81 Chris Knipper Sr OL 68 Jeremy McKinney Sr RB 29 Doug Miller So QB 13 Randy Reiners So OL 76 Matt Reischl Jr C 64 Derek Rose Jr QB 12 Matt Sherman Sr OL 65 Ben Sobieski Fr RB 31 Rob Thein So TE 86 Austin Wheatley So WR 25 Richard Willock Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 23 Plez Atkins Sr DB 9 Matt Bowen So SS 15 Kerry Cooks Sr DL 94 Jared DeVries Jr NG 52 Steve English Jr DT 72 Epenesa Epenesa Sr CB 26 Ed Gibson Sr CB 2 Tarig Holman So DE 28 Jason House Sr LB 37 Matt Hughes Jr NG 90 Aron Klein Jr DE 19 Jeff Kramer Jr DT 55 Jon LaFleur Sr DE 48 Ryan Loftin So LB 56 Vernon Rollins  Jr FS 21 Eric Thigpen Jr LB 97 LeVar Woods Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 7 Jason Baker Fr K 38 Zach Bromert Jr K 16 Greg McLaughlin Fr	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Don Patterson – Offensive Coordinator Bob Elliott – Defensive Coordinator Chuck Long – Defensive backs Bobby Diaco – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	21	21	20	18	13	11	11	17	15	18	15	12	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	20		19	17	13	9	8	16	15	19	16	14	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV

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Game summaries

Northern Iowa

Northern Iowa at #19 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 • Hawkeyes 10 28 7 21 66 Date: September 6 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 66,325 Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 1 14:40 Iowa Tavian Banks 63-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 1 7:53 Iowa Zach Bromert 40-yard field goal Iowa 10–0 2 14:53 Iowa Tavian Banks 40-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 17–0 2 14:29 Iowa Tim Dwight 27-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 24–0 2 10:56 Iowa Tavian Banks 6-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 31–0 2 2:25 Iowa Damon Gibson 65-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 38–0 3 6:14 Iowa Rob Thein 6-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 45–0 4 14:55 Iowa Richard Willcock 26-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Greg McLaughlin kick) Iowa 52–0 4 7:02 Iowa Richard Carter 27-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 59–0 4 1:47 Iowa Henry Pollio 1-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 66–0

The Hawkeyes dominated on both sides of the ball as they gave the crowd an opening-game victory.

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Tulsa

Tulsa at #17 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Hurricane 0 10 6 0 16 • Hawkeyes 23 7 7 17 54 Date: September 13 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 64,893 Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 1 9:55 Iowa Tavian Banks 71-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 1 4:45 Iowa Zach Bromert 27-yard field goal Iowa 10–0 1 4:29 Iowa Tavian Banks 14-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 17–0 2 0:37 Iowa Tavian Banks 14-yard run (PAT failed) Iowa 23–0 2 7:55 Tulsa Charlie Higgins 13-yard pass from John Fitzgerald (James Anderson kick) Iowa 23–7 2 3:20 Tulsa James Anderson 32-yard field goal Iowa 23–10 2 0:00 Iowa Tim Dwight 35-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 30–10 3 9:05 Tulsa Charlie Higgins 1-yard run (two-point conversion failed) Iowa 30–16 3 4:28 Iowa Tavian Banks 23-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 37–16 4 14:24 Iowa Rob Thein 9-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 44–16 4 9:31 Iowa Zach Bromert 34-yard field goal Iowa 47–16 4 9:11 Iowa Richard Willcock 27-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 54–16

Avenging an upset loss from the previous season, the Hawkeyes rolled up over 600 yards of total offense for the second time in as many games. Senior running back Tavian Banks rushed for a school record 314 yards and a school record-tying 4 touchdowns.

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Iowa State

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

1 2 3 4 Total • Hawkeyes 14 21 21 7 63 Cyclones 0 6 7 7 20 Date: September 20 Location: Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA Game start: 2:30 pm CDT Elapsed time: 3:35 Game attendance: 50,066 Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), Mostly sunny, Wind NNW 10–15 mph (16–24 km/h) Referee: Jim Kemerling Sources: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary 1 14:02 Iowa Tavian Banks 82-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 1 2:24 Iowa Tavian Banks 8-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 14–0 2 9:53 Iowa Tavian Banks 1-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 21–0 2 6:15 Iowa Tim Dwight 41-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 28–0 2 3:38 Iowa Tim Dwight 29-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 35–0 2 1:18 ISU Andy Stensrud 11-yard pass from Todd Bandhauer (PAT failed) Iowa 35–6 3 11:46 Iowa Tim Dwight 33-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 42–6 3 10:41 Iowa Tavian Banks 4-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 49–6 3 6:45 ISU Andy Stensrud 5-yard pass from Todd Bandhauer (Jamie Kohl kick) Iowa 49–13 3 4:00 Iowa Kerry Cooks 30-yard interception return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 56–13 4 6:15 ISU Tyrone Watley 30-yard pass from Todd Bandhauer (Jamie Kohl kick) Iowa 56–20 4 4:32 Iowa Damon Gibson 58-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 63–20

The Hawkeyes won against the rival Cyclones for the 15th consecutive year. Tavian Banks had four rushing touchdowns for the second week in a row and Tim Dwight hauled in three touchdown receptions as the Hawkeyes rolled up 575 yards of total offense.^[5]

Illinois

Illinois at #9 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Fighting Illini 0 3 0 7 10 • Hawkeyes 7 17 7 7 38 Date: September 27 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 70,397 Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 1 5:22 Iowa Tavian Banks 2-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 2 11:52 Illinois Neil Rackers 37-yard field goal Iowa 7–3 2 8:08 Iowa Tony Collins 61-yard punt return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 14–3 2 1:47 Iowa Zach Bromert 40-yard field goal Iowa 17–3 2 0:05 Iowa Damon Gibson 43-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 24–3 3 7:17 Iowa Tavian Banks 31-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 31–3 4 8:59 Illinois George McDonald-Ashford 28-yard pass from Tim Lavery (Neil Rackers kick) Iowa 31–10 4 3:25 Iowa Tony Collins 16-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 38–10

Tavian Banks ran for two more touchdowns to push his total to 12 rushing touchdowns after 4 games. Tony Collins also scored twice, the first on a 61-yard punt return and the other on a 16-yard pass from Matt Sherman.^[6]

Ohio State

#8 Iowa at #7 Ohio State

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 7 0 7 • Buckeyes 0 10 6 7 23 Date: October 4 Location: Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH Game attendance: 92,536 Television network: ABC Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 2 13:11 OSU Dan Stultz 36-yard field goal OSU 3–0 2 0:38 OSU Michael Wiley 1-yard run OSU 10–0 3 10:35 OSU David Boston 6-yard pass from Stanley Jackson (PAT failed) OSU 16–0 3 7:39 Iowa Austin Wheatley 4-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) OSU 16–7 4 3:13 OSU Michael Wiley 10-yard run (Dan Stultz kick) OSU 23–7

College GameDay was in Columbus for this matchup.^[7][8]

Michigan

#15 Iowa at #5 Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 21 3 0 24 • Wolverines 0 7 14 7 28 Date: October 18 Location: Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI Game attendance: 106,505 Referee: Steve Newman TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Barnett, Bill Curry, Dave Ryan Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 2 13:29 Iowa Tavian Banks 53-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 2 4:53 Mich Tai Streets 15-yard pass from Brian Griese (Kraig Baker kick) Tied 7–7 2 2:27 Iowa Michael Burger 1-yard run (kick failed) Iowa 13–7 2 0:00 Iowa Tim Dwight 61-yard punt return (Matt Sherman to Chris Knipper pass) Iowa 21–7 3 11:06 Mich Russell Shaw 10-yard pass from Brian Griese (Kraig Baker kick) Iowa 21–14 3 3:19 Mich Brian Griese 1-yard run (Kraig Baker kick) Tied 21–21 3 0:25 Iowa Zach Bromert 38-yard field goal Iowa 24–21 4 2:55 Mich Jerame Tuman 2-yard pass from Brian Griese (Kraig Baker kick) Mich 28–24

Playing their second straight game against a Top 10 team on the road, the Hawkeyes put together a very strong first half. On the final play before the break, Michigan punted to All-American Tim Dwight who took it 61 yards to the house for a 21-7 halftime lead. The Wolverines clamped down in the second half, outscoring Iowa 21–3. Michigan would go on to finish 12-0 and claim the AP National Championship.

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Indiana

Indiana at #19 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Hoosiers 0 0 0 0 0 • Hawkeyes 7 14 21 20 62 Date: October 25 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game attendance: 70,397 TV announcers (ESPN+): Wayne Larrivee Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 1 10:15 Iowa Tavian Banks 19-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 2 6:35 Iowa Tim Dwight 29-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 14–0 2 4:42 Iowa Damon Gibson 64-yard pass from Tim Dwight (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 21–0 3 11:24 Iowa Matt Bowen 70-yard interception return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 28–0 3 4:10 Iowa Tim Dwight 92-yard punt return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 35–0 3 1:18 Iowa Randy Reiners 6-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 42–0 4 11:32 Iowa Tavian Banks 1-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 49–0 4 1:48 Iowa J.P. Lange 59-yard interception return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 56–0 4 0:07 Iowa Rob Thein 30-yard run (PAT failed) Iowa 62–0

The Hawkeyes scored 60+ points for the third time of the 1997 season. The win was highlighted by an electrifying 92-yard punt return for a TD by Tim Dwight. Dwight also caught a 29-yard touchdown from Randy Reiners, who was making his first start at QB, and threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Damon Gibson. The defense did plenty as well. In addition to pitching a shutout, Matt Bowen and J.P. Lange each added long interception returns for touchdowns.

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Purdue

#18 Purdue at #16 Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Boilermakers 10 7 0 0 17 • Hawkeyes 0 14 21 0 35 Date: November 1 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game start: 11:35 am CDT Elapsed time: 3:30 Game attendance: 70,397 Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), Overcast, Wind NW 15–20 mph (24–32 km/h) Referee: J. Kemerling Television network: ESPN2 Sources: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary 1 2:32 Purdue Shane Ryan 19-yard field goal Purdue 3–0 1 0:00 Purdue Brian Alford 77-yard pass from Billy Dicken (Shane Ryan kick) Purdue 10–0 2 13:50 Iowa Rob Thein 31-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Purdue 10–7 2 12:17 Purdue Billy Dicken 1-yard run (Shane Ryan kick) Purdue 17–7 2 0:32 Iowa Rob Thein 9-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Purdue 17–14 3 12:46 Iowa Tavian Banks 16-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 21–17 3 8:46 Iowa Michael Burger 1-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 28–17 3 1:25 Iowa Rob Thein 5-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 35–17

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Wisconsin

#12 Iowa at Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 7 3 10 • Badgers 0 13 0 0 13 Date: November 8 Location: Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI Game start: 11:30 am CST Elapsed time: 3:07 Game attendance: 79,864 Game weather: High 40s°F, Party cloudy, Variable wind Referee: Bill Lemonnier Television network: ESPN Sources: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary 2 12:37 Wisc Matt Davenport 37-yard field goal Wis 3–0 2 11:42 Wis Eddie Faulkner 4-yard run (Matt Davenport kick) Wis 10–0 2 0:04 Wis Matt Davenport 43-yard field goal Wis 13–0 3 1:09 Iowa Tim Dwight 19-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Wis 13–7 4 8:01 Iowa Zach Bromert 41-yard field goal Wis 13–10

The Badgers defeated the Hawkeyes for the first time since the 1976 season.

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Northwestern

#22 Iowa at Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 7 7 0 0 14 • Wildcats 0 7 8 0 15 Date: November 15 Location: Ryan Field Evanston, IL Game start: 11:35 am CST Elapsed time: 3:05 Game attendance: 40,838 Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C), Snow, Wind SE 15–25 mph (24–40 km/h) Referee: D. Witvoet Television network: ESPN2 Sources: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary 1 9:17 Iowa Tavian Banks 46-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 7–0 2 11:42 NW Brian Musso 31-yard pass from Tim Hughes (Brian Gowins kick) Tied 7–7 2 1:41 Iowa Tavian Banks 1-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 14–7 3 13:03 NW Safety Iowa 14–9 3 10:14 NW Brian Musso 40-yard pass from Tim Hughes (two-point conversion failed) NW 15–14

Four missed field goals plagued the Hawkeyes in a road loss to Northwestern.^[14]

Minnesota

Minnesota at Iowa
Battle for Floyd of Rosedale

1 2 3 4 Total Golden Gophers 0 0 0 0 0 • Hawkeyes 3 14 7 7 31 Date: November 22 Location: Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA Game start: 1:05 pm CST Elapsed time: 2:45 Game attendance: 64,591 Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C), Cloudy, Wind W 14 mph (23 km/h) Referee: J. Teitz Sources: Box score Archived 2020-01-07 at the Wayback Machine

Scoring summary 1 9:02 Iowa Zach Bromert 20-yard field goal Iowa 3–0 2 11:08 Iowa Tim Dwight 1-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 10–0 2 2:01 Iowa Chris Knipper 1-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 17–0 3 0:49 Iowa Tim Dwight 44-yard punt return (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 24–0 4 4:10 Iowa Scott Mullen 7-yard run (Zach Bromert kick) Iowa 31–0

After consecutive disappointing road losses, the Hawkeyes returned to Kinnick Stadium and closed the regular season with a decisive win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Senior Day. Late in the 3rd Quarter, Tim Dwight returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown, giving him the Big Ten record for punt return touchdowns in a career (the record stood until 2006). The Iowa defense posted its third shutout in six home games during the 1997 season.

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Vs. No. 17 Arizona State (Sun Bowl)

Iowa vs. #17 Arizona State

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 7 7 • Sun Devils 0 10 7 0 17 Date: December 31 Location: Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX Game start: 2:15 PM CST Elapsed time: 3:33 Game attendance: 49,104 Game weather: 53, Clear and dry, Wind 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) Referee: Ken Flaherty TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan, Dave Logan, and Scott Lasky Sources: Box score and Game recap

Scoring summary 2 9:41 ASU L. Jackson 35-yard pass from Campbell (Nycz kick) ASU 7–0 2 0:00 ASU Nycz 21-yard field goal ASU 10–0 3 0:31 ASU Martin 1-yard run (Nycz kick) ASU 17–0 4 0:49 Iowa R. Carter 26-yard pass from Randy Reiners (Zach Bromert kick) ASU 17–7

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Postseason awards

• Tim Dwight - Consensus first-team All-American (All-purpose / kick returners) and 7th in Heisman Trophy voting.
• Jared DeVries - Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year

Team players in the 1998 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Mike Goff	OT	3	78	Cincinnati Bengals
Tavian Banks	RB	4	101	Jacksonville Jaguars
Tim Dwight	WR	4	114	Atlanta Falcons
Kerry Cooks	S	5	144	Minnesota Vikings

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References