The1981 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was anAmerican football team that represented theUniversity of Iowa in theBig Ten Conference during the1981 Big Ten football season. In their third season under head coachHayden Fry, the Hawkeyes compiled an 8–4 record (6–2 in conference games), tied withOhio State for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 260 to 129.^[1][2] Iowa received the Big Ten's spot in the1982 Rose Bowl, losing toWashington. It was Iowa's first winning season since1961 and its first Rose Bowl since the1958 season. They were ranked No. 15 in the final UPI poll and No. 18 in the final AP poll.^[3]

The team limited opponents to only 79.7 rushing yards per game and 2.4 yards per carry, both of which remain Iowa single-season records.^[4] Two Iowa players were consensus All-Americans in 1981: defensive endAndre Tippett and punterReggie Roby.^[5] Seven Iowa players received first-team honors on the1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Tippett (AP-1, UPI-1); Roby (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive lineman Pat Dean (AP-1, UPI-1); guardMark Bortz (AP-1, UPI-1); linebacker Mel Cole (AP-1, UPI-1); guardRon Hallstrom (AP-2, UPI-1); and defensive back Lou King (AP-1).^[6][7] King led the Big Ten with eight interceptions.^[8]

Kirk Ferentz joined the Iowa coaching staff as the offensive line coach in 1981.^[9]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	No. 7Nebraska*		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 10–7	60,160	[10]
September 19	atIowa State*		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)		L 12–23	53,922	[11]
September 26	No. 6UCLA*		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 20–7	60,004	[12]
October 3	atNorthwestern	No. 18	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 64–0	30,113	[13]
October 10	Indiana	No. 15	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 42–28	60,000	[14]
October 17	at No. 5Michigan	No. 12	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		W 9–7	105,915	[15]
October 24	Minnesota	No. 6	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	ABC	L 10–12	60,000	[16]
October 31	atIllinois	No. 16	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		L 7–24	66,877	[17]
November 7	Purdue		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 33–7	60,114	[18]
November 14	atWisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	W 17–7	78,731	[19]
November 21	Michigan State	No. 19	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 36–7	60,103	[20]
January 1	vs. No. 12Washington*	No. 13	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	NBC	L 0–28	105,611	[21]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game

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In 1981, Iowa played eight conference games, missing one opponent. The government of Iowa mandated that they resume their series with Iowa State.^{[citation needed]}
Iowa did not playOhio State in 1981; OSU was also 8-3 and 6-2 in the Big Ten to tie for the conference title. The Buckeyes won theirbowl game, the 1981Liberty Bowl overNavy, and finished at 9-3. Iowa was awarded the Rose Bowl berth because it had not been to Pasadena since the1958 season, while Ohio State wenttwo years earlier.

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The Hawkeyes won 9-7 at #5 Michigan, their third victory over a top ten team during the 1981 season. It was Iowa's first victory over the Wolverines since 1962.

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The 33-7 win was Iowa's first over the Boilermakers since 1960, and secured the Hawkeyes' first winning season since 1961.^[35]

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Iowa earns first Rose Bowl since1958 withMichigan's loss toOhio State, which was announced with 6:14 left in the first quarter.^[37]

Statistics

• Phil Blatcher 27 Rush, 247 Yds^[38]

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1981 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 87 John Alt So C 69 Bill Bailey So RB 28 Phil Blatcher Sr QB 11 Gordy Bohannon Sr WR 27 Jeff Brown Jr QB 8 Dave Chambers Jr QB 12 Pete Gales (C) Sr RB 33 Owen Gill Fr RB 26 Norm Granger So G 76 Ron Hallstrom Sr C 53 Joel Hilgenberg So OT Bruce Kittle  (C) Sr G 55 Joe Levelis So QB 16 Chuck Long Fr OT 65 Dave Mayhan Sr OT 79 Brett Miller Jr WR 5 Dave Moritz So WR 83 Lon Olejniczak  Jr RB 22 Eddie Phillips So OT 71 Paul Postler Sr G 66 Jon Roehlk So WB 25 Ivory Webb Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 63 Mark Bortz Jr LB 31 Mel Cole Sr LB 32 James Erb Jr DB 46 Tracy Crocker (C) Sr DL 58 Pat Dean Sr DB 10 Jim Frazier Sr DB 43 Lou King Sr DT 77 George Little Fr DL 74 Jim Pekar Sr LB 37 Todd Simonsen Sr DB 41 Bob Stoops Jr DB 2 Mike Stoops So DE 99 Andre Tippett (C) Sr DL 94 Brad Webb (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Tom Nichol Fr K 83 Lon Olejniczak Jr P 7 Reggie Roby Jr	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Snyder –Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Bill Brashier –Defensive coordinator Kirk Ferentz –Offensive line Carl Jackson –Running backs Del Miller –Offensive assistant Dan McCarney –Defensive line Barry Alvarez –Linebackers Don Patterson – Defensive Backs Bernie Wyatt –Defensive ends/recruiting coordinator Bill Dervich –Strength and conditioning Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Iowa tallied 2,153 rushing yards and 1,422 passing yards in 1981. On defense, they held opponents to 953 rushing yards and 1,834 passing yards.^[44] The team limited opponents to only 79.7 rushing yards per game and 2.4 yards per carry, both of which remain Iowa single-season records.^[45]

The team's individual statistical leaders included:

• Gordy Bohannon completed 72 of 142 passes (50.7%) for 999 yards, six touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a 113.9 passer rating. FreshmanChuck Long completed one pass for 15 yards.^[46]
• Phil Blatcher led the team with 737 rushing yards on 145 carries for an average of 4.9 yards per carry.^[46] He was selected as the UPI Midwest Offensive Player of the Week after tallying 247 rushing yards against Michigan State.^[47] Blatcher ranked second on the team in soring with 48 points.^[46]
• The team's leading receivers were Dave Moitz (17 receptions for 390 yards) and Jeff Brown (20 receptions for 301 yards).^[46]
• Kicker Tom Nichol led the team in scoring with 59 points on 11 field goals and 26 extra points.^[48]
• Linebacker Mel Cole led the team with 94 total tackles.^[49]
• Defensive back Lou King led the team with eight interceptions. His eight interceptions remains tied for the Iowa single-season record.^[50]

Total attendance at home games was 360,381, an average of 60,063 per game. It was the first team Iowa drew an average of at least 60,000 spectators per game.^[51]

Two Iowa players were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans. Defensive endAndre Tippett, a team captain, set Iowa's all-time record in 1980 with 20 tackles for losses totaling 153 yards and received the consensus All-America recogniation in 1981. PunterReggie Roby broke the NCAA record with an average of 49.8 yards per punt and also received consensus All-America recognition.^[52] Roby averaged 55.8 yards per punt against Nebraska on September 12, 1981.^[53]

Linebacker Mel Cole, the team's leading tackler, was selected as the team's most valuable player.^[54]

Hayden Fry was selected by the media for theBig Ten Coach of the Year award. He was the first Iowa coach to receive the honor.^[55]

Seven Iowa players received first-team honors from theAssociated Press (AP) orUnited Press International (UPI) on the1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Tippett (AP-1, UPI-1); Roby (AP-1, UPI-1); defensive linemen Pat Dean (AP-1, UPI-1); linebacker Mel Coe (AP-1, UPI-1) guardMark Bortz (AP-1, UPI-2); guardRon Hallstrom (AP-2, UPI-1); and defensive back Lou King (AP-1).^[56][57]

The team had five co-captains: defensive back Tracy Crocker; quarterback Pete Gales; offensive tackle Bruce Kittle; defensive endAndre Tippett; and defensive end Brad Webb.^[58]

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• 1981 Big Ten Conference football season
• Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons
• Big Ten Conference football champion seasons
• 1981 in sports in Iowa

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