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1984 Iowa

8–⁠4–⁠1 (5–⁠3–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Hayden Fry, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1984, game by game: won vs. Iowa State 59–21; lost vs. No. 12 Penn State 17–20; lost at No. 5 Ohio State 26–45; won vs. Illinois 21–16; won at Northwestern 31–3; won at No. 14 Purdue 40–3; won vs. Michigan 26–0; won at Indiana 24–20; tied vs. Wisconsin 10–10; lost vs. Michigan State 16–17; lost at Minnesota 17–23; won at Hawai’i 17–6; won vs. No. 19 Texas 55–17+38−19Won 59–21 vs. Iowa State+38Iowa StateLost 17–20 vs. No. 12 Penn State-3No. 12 Penn StateLost 26–45 at No. 5 Ohio State-19No. 5 Ohio StateWon 21–16 vs. Illinois+5IllinoisWon 31–3 at Northwestern+28NorthwesternWon 40–3 at No. 14 Purdue+37No. 14 PurdueWon 26–0 vs. Michigan+26MichiganWon 24–20 at Indiana+4IndianaTied 10–10 vs. Wisconsin0WisconsinLost 16–17 vs. Michigan State-1Michigan StateLost 17–23 at Minnesota-6MinnesotaWon 17–6 at Hawai’i+11Hawai’iWon 55–17 vs. No. 19 Texas+38No. 19 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsIowa StateW 59–⁠2177%
Sep 15vs12Penn StateL 17–⁠2054%
Sep 22at5Ohio StateL 26–⁠4533%
Sep 29vsIllinoisW 21–⁠1655%
Oct 6atNorthwesternW 31–⁠376%
Oct 13at14PurdueW 40–⁠357%
Oct 20vsMichiganW 26–⁠064%
Oct 27atIndianaW 24–⁠2084%
Nov 3vsWisconsinT 10–⁠1074%
Nov 10vsMichigan StateL 16–⁠1778%
Nov 17atMinnesotaL 17–⁠2383%
Dec 1atHawai’iW 17–⁠652%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvs19TexasFreedom BowlW 55–⁠1752%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas 55–⁠17 in the Freedom Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 8: 18
  6. Wk 9: 17
  7. Wk 10: 17
  8. Wk 11: 18
  9. Final: 16

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 1984.

Consensus All-AmericanLarry Station, LB

Record
8–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠3–⁠1 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 5
Points
359–⁠201
Coach
Hayden Fry
Elo
1673 +75 this season
SP+ rating
12.4 No. 23 of 106; offense No. 31, defense No. 26
SRS
13.0 No. 14 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bill Snyder
Defensive coordinator
Bill Brashier
Captains
Owen Gill, Jonathan Hayes, Paul Hufford, Keith Hunter and Kevin Spitzig
Most valuable player
Ronnie Harmon

Drafted in 1985

The 1985 draft
Rd 2Jonathan Hayes TEKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Owen Gill RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 3George Little DTMiami Dolphins

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1984 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1984 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠29–⁠313
Illinois6–⁠37–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa5–⁠3–⁠18–⁠4–⁠116
Wisconsin5–⁠3–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Michigan State5–⁠46–⁠6
Michigan5–⁠46–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠64–⁠7
Northwestern2–⁠72–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠90–⁠11

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