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1958 Iowa

8–⁠1–⁠1 (5–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Forest Evashevski, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1958, game by game: won vs. No. 6 TCU 17–0; tied vs. Air Force 13–13; won vs. Indiana 34–13; won at No. 4 Wisconsin 20–9; won vs. No. 8 Northwestern 26–20; won at Michigan 37–14; won at Minnesota 28–6; lost vs. No. 16 Ohio State 28–38; won vs. No. 15 Notre Dame 31–21; won vs. No. 17 California 38–12+26−10Won 17–0 vs. No. 6 TCU+17No. 6 TCUTied 13–13 vs. Air Force0Air ForceWon 34–13 vs. Indiana+21IndianaWon 20–9 at No. 4 Wisconsin+11No. 4 WisconsinWon 26–20 vs. No. 8 Northwestern+6No. 8 NorthwesternWon 37–14 at Michigan+23MichiganWon 28–6 at Minnesota+22MinnesotaLost 28–38 vs. No. 16 Ohio State-10No. 16 Ohio StateWon 31–21 vs. No. 15 Notre Dame+10No. 15 Notre DameWon 38–12 vs. No. 17 California+26No. 17 California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27vs6TCUW 17–⁠064%
Oct 4vsAir ForceT 13–⁠1388%
Oct 11vsIndianaW 34–⁠1386%
Oct 18at4WisconsinW 20–⁠946%
Oct 25vs8NorthwesternW 26–⁠2080%
Nov 1atMichiganW 37–⁠1464%
Nov 8atMinnesotaW 28–⁠681%
Nov 15vs16Ohio StateL 28–⁠3870%
Nov 22vs15Notre DameW 31–⁠2167%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs17CaliforniaRose BowlW 38–⁠1273%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat California 38–⁠12 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 3: 8
  3. Wk 4: 17
  4. Wk 5: 13
  5. Wk 6: 7
  6. Wk 7: 2
  7. Wk 8: 2
  8. Wk 9: 2
  9. Wk 10: 6
  10. Wk 11: 4
  11. Final: 2

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1958.

National championsa title the school claims

Big Ten champions5–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteRandy Duncan, second

Led the nationRandy Duncan: passing yards (1,347 yds), total offense per game (156.2); Bob Jeter: yards per carry (7.2)

Consensus All-AmericanRandy Duncan, QB

Record
8–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠1 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
272–⁠146
Coach
Forest Evashevski
Elo
1716 +82 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
25.3 No. 1 of 112 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Most valuable player
Randy Duncan

Drafted in 1959

The 1959 draft
Rd 1Randy Duncan QBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Mac Lewis OTChicago Cardinals
Rd 7Mitch Ogiego QBWashington Redskins

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ray JauchRBAP-2; UPI-3

From Wikipedia’s 1958 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1958 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa5–⁠18–⁠1–⁠12
Wisconsin5–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠17
Ohio State4–⁠1–⁠26–⁠1–⁠28
Purdue3–⁠1–⁠26–⁠1–⁠213
Indiana3–⁠2–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Illinois4–⁠34–⁠5
Northwestern3–⁠45–⁠4
Michigan1–⁠5–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota1–⁠61–⁠8
Michigan State0–⁠5–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.