| Sport: | football |
| Year: | 1979 |
| Team: | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 5 - 6 |
| Conf Record: | 4 - 4 |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Oc Year: | 1st |
| Def Coach: | Bill Brashier |
| Dc Year: | 1st |
The 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the University of Iowa in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. It was the first season for new head coach Hayden Fry, who arrived in Iowa City after spending the previous six years at North Texas State.[1]
See also: 1979 Indiana Hoosiers football team.
On October 22, 2016, former Indiana University coach and current ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso described the game on College Gameday. He said at halftime he told the Hoosiers (who were losing the game 26-3) to not bother coming out for the 2nd half unless they were prepared to win the game. Indiana would then go on to win the game, 30-26, spoiling the debut of head coach Hayden Fry.[3]
| Game statistics | INDIANA | IOWA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 22 | |
| Total yards | 479 | 389 | |
| Passing yards | 316 | 227 | |
| Rushing yards | 143 | 162 | |
| Penalties | 6–53 | 8–87 | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
See also: 1979 Oklahoma Sooners football team.
| Game statistics | OKLAHOMA | IOWA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 12 | |
| Total yards | 452 | 202 | |
| Passing yards | 183 | 139 | |
| Rushing yards | 269 | 63 | |
| Penalties | 4–40 | 5–36 | |
| Turnovers | 5 | 2 |
See also: 1979 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and Iowa–Nebraska football rivalry.
For the second week in a row, the Hawkeyes faced a Big 8 opponent ranked in the top 10. Iowa led 21-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but Nebraska tied the game then recovered a fumble before kicking the winning field goal late.[5]
See also: 1979 Iowa State Cyclones football team and Iowa–Iowa State football rivalry.
This game marked Hayden Fry's first win as head coach of the Hawkeyes.[6]
| Game statistics | ISU | IOWA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 30 | |
| Total yards | 162 | 429 | |
| Passing yards | 56 | 51 | |
| Rushing yards | 106 | 378 | |
| Penalties | 4–35 | 7–63 | |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
See also: 1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team.
See also: 1979 Northwestern Wildcats football team.
| Game statistics | IOWA | NW | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 16 | |
| Total yards | 509 | 320 | |
| Passing yards | 145 | 202 | |
| Rushing yards | 364 | 118 | |
| Penalties | 3–35 | 4–52 | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 8 |
See also: 1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry.
See also: 1979 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry.
Dennis Mosley broke Ed Podolak's single-season rushing record and caught a 75-yard touchdown pass in the win over the Badgers.[10]
See also: 1979 Purdue Boilermakers football team.
See also: 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team.
See also: 1979 Michigan State Spartans football team.
| Game statistics | MSU | IOWA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 17 | 23 | |
| Total yards | 395 | 444 | |
| Passing yards | 244 | 204 | |
| Rushing yards | 151 | 238 | |
| Penalties | 3–28 | 1–20 | |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
See also: 1979 College Football All-America Team and 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
See main article: 1980 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| RB | 9 | 232 | Minnesota Vikings | |
| Jim Swift | OT | 9 | 238 | Seattle Seahawks |