CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2012 Iowa

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2012, game by game: won vs. Northern Illinois 18–17; lost vs. Iowa State 6–9; won vs. Northern Iowa 27–16; lost vs. Central Michigan 31–32; won vs. Minnesota 31–13; won at Michigan State 19–16; lost vs. Penn State 14–38; lost at Northwestern 17–28; lost at Indiana 21–24; lost vs. Purdue 24–27; lost at No. 23 Michigan 17–42; lost vs. No. 17 Nebraska 7–13+18−25Won 18–17 vs. Northern Illinois+1Northern Illino…Lost 6–9 vs. Iowa State-3Iowa StateWon 27–16 vs. Northern Iowa+11Northern IowaLost 31–32 vs. Central Michigan-1Central MichiganWon 31–13 vs. Minnesota+18MinnesotaWon 19–16 at Michigan State+3Michigan StateLost 14–38 vs. Penn State-24Penn StateLost 17–28 at Northwestern-11NorthwesternLost 21–24 at Indiana-3IndianaLost 24–27 vs. Purdue-3PurdueLost 17–42 at No. 23 Michigan-25No. 23 MichiganLost 7–13 vs. No. 17 Nebraska-6No. 17 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsNorthern IllinoisW 18–⁠1742%
Sep 8vsIowa StateL 6–⁠963%
Sep 15vsNorthern IowaW 27–⁠1671%
Sep 22vsCentral MichiganL 31–⁠3278%
Sep 29vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠1365%
Oct 13atMichigan StateW 19–⁠1633%
Oct 20vsPenn StateL 14–⁠3853%
Oct 27atNorthwesternL 17–⁠2841%
Nov 3atIndianaL 21–⁠2459%
Nov 10vsPurdueL 24–⁠2769%
Nov 17at23MichiganL 17–⁠4221%
Nov 23vs17NebraskaL 7–⁠1329%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nebraska 13–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 90th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
232–⁠275
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1471 −84 this season
SP+ rating
0.5 No. 62 of 124; offense No. 97, defense No. 37, special teams No. 44
SRS
−2.5 No. 69 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 40
Offensive coordinator
Greg Davis
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense115th of 124
  • Defense61st of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted120th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted75th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0337%0.93115th of 124
Defense0.0641%0.9061st of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.07 def		38% off
42% def		—120th off
75th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 302% allowed
Defense-0.2own 292% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJames Vandenberg QB2,249 yds
Passing touchdownsJames Vandenberg QB7 TD
Rushing yardsMark Weisman RB815 yds
Rushing touchdownsMark Weisman RB8 TD
Receiving yardsKeenan Davis WR571 yds
Receiving touchdownsKevonte Martin-Manley WR2 TD
InterceptionsChristian Kirksey LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Greg Garmon ATH★★★★No. 178
Faith Ekakitie SDE★★★★No. 199
Jaleel Johnson DT★★★★No. 208
Ryan Ward OT★★★★No. 359
Maurice Fleming ATH★★★No. 479

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.839
Running backs33.00.825
Receivers43.00.836
Offensive line33.00.822
Defensive line43.50.871
Linebackers22.50.807
Defensive backs33.00.859
Athletes and specialists33.30.874
Whole class233.10.844

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 5Micah Hyde CBGreen Bay Packers

Roster 109

The 2012 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠012–⁠03
Nebraska7–⁠110–⁠425
Penn State6–⁠28–⁠4
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠524
Northwestern5–⁠310–⁠317
Wisconsin4–⁠48–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠57–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa2–⁠64–⁠8
Illinois0–⁠82–⁠10

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