1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

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

1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1977 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

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
	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

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 (Cy-Hawk Trophy)	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 (Floyd of Rosedale)		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

[1]

Roster

1977 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OG 61 Doug Benschoter WR 88 Mike Brady QB   Bobby Commings Jr. Fr RB 28 Jesse Cook Sr C 54 Jay Hilgenberg Fr OG 56 Jim Hilgenberg RB 31 Joe Hufford FB 44 Jon Lazar Jr QB 11 Tom McLaughlin Sr RB   Rod Morton So RB 18 Dennis Mosley So WR   Brad Reid So RB 37 Ernie Sheeler Sr TE   Jim Swift So OT 72 Barry Tomasetti Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class FS 9 Dave Becker LB 43 Mike Jackson DL 83 Jim Molini So LB 85 Dean Moore Sr LB 47 Tom Rusk Jr CB 19 Rod Sears Sr CB 38 Roger Stech DE 45 Steve Vazquez Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K   Dave Holsclaw So K   Scott Schilling Fr	Head coach Bob Commings Coordinators/assistant coaches Larry Coyer – Defensive coordinator Tom Hayes – Defensive backs Jim Caldwell – Graduate assistant Dan McCarney – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

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, Clear skies, Wind NW 15-20 mph Source: Box score

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

See also: 1977 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
23–14–3	1976	W 13–10

[2]

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: Mid 70s° F, Overcast, Wind S 15-20 mph TV announcers (ABC): Ara Parseghian Source: Box score

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

See also: 1977 Iowa State Cyclones football team and Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–8	1934	L 6–31

[3][4]

Arizona

See also: 1977 Arizona Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–2	1973	L 20–23

at UCLA

See also: 1977 UCLA Bruins football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–5	1974	W 21–10

[5][6]

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, Cloudy, Wind NW 15-20 mph

See also: 1977 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–47–1	1976	W 22–12

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

See also: 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–25–2	1976	L 14–34

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

See also: 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
4–23–3	1974	L 7–24

at Wisconsin

See also: 1977 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
19–34–1	1976	L 21–38

Iowa’s 24–8 triumph in Madison started an 18–game unbeaten streak (17–0–1) against the Badgers.[7]

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

See also: 1977 Michigan State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
5–8–1	1976	W 30–17

[8]

Team players in the 1978 NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

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

[9]

References

1. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
2. "It's no dream! Hawks win 24-0" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 12, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
3. "Hawkeye defense silences Cyclones" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. September 19, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
4. Bingham, Walter (September 26, 1977). "AN END TO THE BICKERING". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
5. "UCLA stymies Iowa" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. October 3, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
6. "Pac-10 Declares Five Members Ineligible". The Washington Post. August 12, 1980. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
7. "Hawks cash in on Badger mistakes" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 14, 1977. p. 10. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
8. "Hawks come up short in exciting finale" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 21, 1977. p. 8. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
9. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1978.htm