CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Iowa

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Hayden Fry, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1985, game by game: won vs. Drake 58–0; won vs. Northern Illinois 48–20; won at Iowa State 57–3; won vs. Michigan State 35–31; won at Wisconsin 23–13; won vs. No. 2 Michigan 12–10; won at Northwestern 49–10; lost at No. 8 Ohio State 13–22; won vs. Illinois 59–0; won at Purdue 27–24; won vs. Minnesota 31–9; lost vs. No. 13 UCLA 28–45+59−17Won 58–0 vs. Drake+58DrakeWon 48–20 vs. Northern Illinois+28Northern Illino…Won 57–3 at Iowa State+54Iowa StateWon 35–31 vs. Michigan State+4Michigan StateWon 23–13 at Wisconsin+10WisconsinWon 12–10 vs. No. 2 Michigan+2No. 2 MichiganWon 49–10 at Northwestern+39NorthwesternLost 13–22 at No. 8 Ohio State-9No. 8 Ohio StateWon 59–0 vs. Illinois+59IllinoisWon 27–24 at Purdue+3PurdueWon 31–9 vs. Minnesota+22MinnesotaLost 28–45 vs. No. 13 UCLA-17No. 13 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 14vsDrakeW 58–⁠092%
Sep 21vsNorthern IllinoisW 48–⁠2076%
Sep 28atIowa StateW 57–⁠369%
Oct 5vsMichigan StateW 35–⁠3178%
Oct 12atWisconsinW 23–⁠1353%
Oct 19vs2MichiganW 12–⁠1058%
Oct 26atNorthwesternW 49–⁠1082%
Nov 2at8Ohio StateL 13–⁠2247%
Nov 9vsIllinoisW 59–⁠073%
Nov 16atPurdueW 27–⁠2473%
Nov 23vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠983%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs13UCLARose BowlL 28–⁠4556%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UCLA 45–⁠28 in the Rose Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 5
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Wk 15: 3
  16. Wk 16: 4
  17. Final: 10

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 1985.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteChuck Long, second

Maxwell AwardChuck Long, QB; also the Davey O’Brien

2 consensus All-AmericansChuck Long, QB; Larry Station, LB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 1
Points
440–⁠187
Coach
Hayden Fry
Elo
1691 +76 this season
SP+ rating
22.7 No. 8 of 106; offense No. 2, defense No. 34
SRS
17.7 No. 11 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bill Snyder
Defensive coordinator
Bill Brashier
Captains
Mike Haight, Ronnie Harmon, Chuck Long, Hap Peterson and Larry Station
Most valuable player
Nate Creer, Mike Haight, Bill Happel, Ronnie Harmon, Scott Helverson, Tom Humphrey, Chuck Long, George Millett, Devon Mitchell, Jay Norvell, Kelly O’Brien, Hap Peterson and Larry Station

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 1Chuck Long QBDetroit Lions
Rd 1Ronnie Harmon RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1Mike Haight OGNew York Jets
Rd 4Devon Mitchell DBDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Tom HumphreyOGUPI-2
  • Mike FlaggTEAP-2
  • Bill HappelWRAP-2; UPI-2
  • Devon MitchellDBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠210
Michigan6–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Illinois5–⁠2–⁠16–⁠5–⁠1
Ohio State5–⁠39–⁠314
Michigan State5–⁠37–⁠5
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin2–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠7
Northwestern1–⁠73–⁠8

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