2004Iowa Hawkeyes football
Big Ten co-champion Capital One Bowl champion
Capital One Bowl, W 30–25 vs.LSU
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8
Record	10–2 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Kirk Ferentz (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ken O'Keefe (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Norm Parker (6th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium (Capacity: 70,397)
Seasons ← 2003 2005 →

The2004 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented theUniversity of Iowa in the2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games inKinnick Stadium and were coached byKirk Ferentz. Finishing the 2003 season with a 10–3 record and anOutback Bowl victory, the Hawkeyes began the season 2–0 with wins overKent State andIowa State.^[1] But after rocky performances atArizona State andMichigan, the Hawkeyes sat at 2–2 going into their game withMichigan State.^[1]

The Hawkeyes handily defeated the Spartans 38–16,^[2] and turned their attention toOhio State, a team whom the Hawkeyes had not beaten at home since 1983.^[3] Behind a strongdefensive performance that allowed only 177 yards,^[4] the Hawkeyes easily defeated the Buckeyes by 26 points, the largest margin of victory over Ohio State in Iowa history at the time.^[3] However, tragedy struck soon thereafter, whenhead coach Kirk Ferentz's father died.^[5] In the emotional game that ensued, the Hawkeyes narrowly defeatedPenn State 6–4 on two Kyle Schlicherfield goals.^[6]

The Hawkeyes then raised their record to 8–2 with victories overIllinois,Purdue, andMinnesota.^[1] With a share of theBig Tenchampionship on the line, the Hawkeyes metWisconsin in the final regular season game of the year. Iowa won the game,^[7] completing its second consecutive unbeaten season at home, and thousands of Hawkeye fans swarmed the field in celebration.^[8] Several weeks following the victory, Iowa accepted a bid to play theLSU Tigers in the2005 Capital One Bowl.^[9]

In a game that was originally thought to be a defensive matchup,^[10] the Hawkeyes took a 24–12 lead early in the fourth quarter. But behindfreshmanquarterbackJaMarcus Russell, the Tigers stormed back, and took a one-point lead with 46 seconds remaining.^[11] However, LSU's comeback was all for naught, as Iowa'sDrew Tate completed a 56-yardtouchdown pass toWarren Holloway as time expired, giving Iowa the 30–25 win^[11] and a 10–2 final record.^[1]

Prior to the season, the Hawkeyes looked to replace seven offensive starters and four defensive starters.^[12] Key losses from 2003 included Maurice Brown, Robert Gallery, Nate Chandler,Fred Russell, and Ramon Ochoa on offense.^[12] Defensively, the Hawkeyes looked to replace Howard Hodges, Jared Clauss, Grant Steen, and Bob Sanders.^[12]

Replacement starters on offense were Drew Tate, Champ Davis, Jermelle Lewis, Calvin Davis, Tony Jackson, Lee Gray, Mike Elgin, and Chris Felder.^[13] On defense,Derreck Robinson, Tyler Luebke, George Lewis, and Marcus Paschal assumed their roles on the starting lineup.^[13] On special teams, David Bradley returned for his senior season aspunter, while Kyle Schlicher replaced Nate Kaeding as the starting kicker.^[13]

• NationalChamps.net – 12th^[13]
• USA today – 12th^[14]
• SI.com – 15th^[15]
• AP top 25 – 19th^[14]

Iowa signed 21 players onNational Signing Day, which was February 4, 2004. The Hawkeyes added other late commits to the class with the late additions of defensive linemanEttore Ewen .^[16]

Another recruit, Kyle Williams, later de-committed from the Hawkeyes and committed to the Purdue Boilermakers.^[17]

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	40‡	Commit date
Nyere Aumaitre OL	Camden, NJ	Woodrow Wilson HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	300 lb (140 kg)	5.10	Jan 20, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Walner Belleus CB	Immokalee, FL	Immokalee HS	5 ft10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)	177+1⁄2 lb (80.5 kg)	4.42	Dec 14, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Ted Bentler DE	Davenport, IA	Assumption HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	242+1⁄2 lb (110.0 kg)	4.675	Oct 5, 2002
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Andy Brodell WR	Ankeny, IA	Ankeny HS	6 ft2+1⁄2 in (1.89 m)	182+1⁄2 lb (82.8 kg)	4.40	Sep 28, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Lucas Cox DE	Springdale, PA	Springdale JSHS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	238+1⁄2 lb (108.2 kg)	4.815	Jan 16, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Harold Dalton S	Camden, NJ	Woodrow Wilson HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	183+1⁄2 lb (83.2 kg)	4.48	Oct 26, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Rashad Dunn OG	Evans, GA	Greenbrier HS	6 ft3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	5.20	Jan 26, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Ettore Ewen DT	Tampa, FL	Wharton HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	4.80	Jul 8, 2004
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Bradley Fletcher S	Youngstown, OH	Liberty HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	4.50	Apr 19, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Charles Godfrey CB	Baytown, TX	Lee HS	6 ft1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m)	201+1⁄2 lb (91.4 kg)	4.54	Dec 15, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Shonn Greene RB	Atco, NJ	Winslow Township HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	4.465	Dec 14, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Mitch King LB	Burlington, IA	Burlington Comm. HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	4.73	Apr 6, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Matt Kroul LB	Mount Vernon, IA	Mount Vernon HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.75	Aug 13, 2002
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Grant McCracken DE	Ankeny, IA	Ankeny HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	4.80	Jul 26, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Brandon Myers TE	Monroe, IA	PCM HS	6 ft4+1⁄4 in (1.94 m)	212+1⁄2 lb (96.4 kg)	4.74	Feb 4, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Anton Narinskiy LB	Chagrin Falls, OH	Kenston HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	4.60	Dec 3, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Seth Olsen OG	Omaha, NE	Millard North HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	302+1⁄2 lb (137.2 kg)	5.40	Jan 9, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Michael Sabers TE	Iowa City, IA	Iowa City HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	232+1⁄2 lb (105.5 kg)	N/A	Jul 11, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Adam Shada DB	Omaha, NE	Millard North HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	4.50	Jun 27, 2003
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Damian Sims RB	Boca Raton, FL	Leonard HS	5 ft9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.475	Jan 28, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Anthony Williams DB	Benton Harbor, MI	Benton Harbor HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	4.62	Feb 4, 2004
	Recruit ratings:Scout:    Rivals:
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: 41   Rivals: 38
‡ Refers to40-yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Iowa Commit List for 2004". Rivals. RetrievedAugust 13, 2007. "Scout.com: Football Recruiting". Scout. RetrievedAugust 13, 2007. "College Football Recruiting Schools". ESPN. RetrievedAugust 13, 2007. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. RetrievedAugust 13, 2007. "2004 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. RetrievedAugust 13, 2007.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	11:00 am	Kent State*	No. 19	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 39–7	70,397[18]
September 11	11:00 am	Iowa State*	No. 16	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy)	ESPN+	W 17–10	70,397[18]
September 18	9:00 pm	atArizona State*	No. 16	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	ESPN+	L 7–44	71,700[18]
September 25	2:30 pm	at No. 18Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	L 17–30	111,428[18]
October 2	11:00 am	Michigan State		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 38–16	70,397[18]
October 16	2:30 pm	No. 25Ohio State		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 33–7	70,397[18]
October 23	11:00 am	atPenn State	No. 25	Beaver Stadium State College, PA	ESPN2	W 6–4	108,062[18]
October 30	11:00 am	atIllinois	No. 23	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN+	W 23–13	47,651[18]
November 6	2:30 pm	Purdue	No. 20	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN	W 23–21	70,397[18]
November 13	11:00 am	atMinnesota	No. 19	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Battle for the Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN	W 29–27	64,719[18]
November 20	3:30 pm	No. 9Wisconsin	No. 17	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Heartland Trophy)	ESPN	W 30–7	70,397[18]
January 1	12:00 pm	vs. No. 12LSU*	No. 11	Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Capital One Bowl)	ABC	W 30–25	70,229[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inCentral time

Due to the Big Ten's rotating schedule, the Hawkeyes did not play eitherNorthwestern orIndiana.^[1]

• FootballFantasy.com – 13th^[19]
• Russell rankings – 18th^[20]
• AndersonSports – 18th^[21]

The Hawkeyes, wearing throwback uniforms commemorating 75 years at Kinnick Stadium, smothered the Golden Flashes. SophomoreDrew Tate had two touchdown passes in his debut as starter. Junior linebackerChad Greenway had a blocked punt and two interceptions, the latter turning into a pick six midway through the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.^[22]

^[23]

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Kirk Ferentz was able to get his first win over Ohio State in this dominant victory. Iowa's defense was relentless and held the Buckeyes to just 27 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Additionally, Ohio State only ran six plays in Hawkeye territory through the first three quarters of the game, and scored their only points with just over two minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore quarterbackDrew Tate had four touchdowns (1 rushing).

^[27]

Iowa's first win without a touchdown since beating Michigan in1985.^[28][29]

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^[31]

In one of the more unlikely victories of the season, Iowa traveled to the Metrodome to challenge the Golden Gophers powerful rushing duo ofMarion Barber III andLaurence Maroney. The Hawkeye defense came into the game rated #1 in the country in rushing defense.

Despite that, the Gopher tandem shredded the Hawkeye defense with the Gophers outrushing Iowa by an outlandish margin of 337 to 6 in yards gained. The Hawkeyes prevailed however behind the deft passing and scrambling of sophomore quarterback Drew Tate, a pass defense that held the Gophers to 73 yards through the air and forced three turnovers, and Iowa's sophomore place-kicker Kyle Schlicher, who was a perfect 5–5 in field goals.

The Hawkeyes led virtually the entire game, but needed a huge defensive stop in the closing minutes, with Jr. linebacker Chad Greenway stopping Marion Barber III for a key loss on 2nd down in Iowa territory and eventually forcing Minnesota to attempt a 51-yard field goal, trailing by two. Although Gopher placekicker Rhyss Lloyd had won three games in his career with last-minute field goals, this time his attempt shanked wide.

QB Drew Tate then guided the Hawks to one closing first down with the help of an offside penalty on Minnesota, and the Hawks survived, winning their sixth consecutive game, all against Big 10 teams. By the time the Hawkeyes kicked off in their next (and final) regular-season game, they learned they would be playing for a portion of the Big Ten title.

^[32]

Iowa clinched a share of Big Ten title with this victory over Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes' defense was smothering, holding a top-ten Badger team to just seven points. Fans rushed the field as it capped off a historic run and an undefeated home season.

^[33]

LSU would not go away in this back-and-forth bowl game. The Tigers took the lead with under a minute to play.Drew Tate was able to findWarren Holloway for a 56-yard pass as time expired to give the Hawkeyes a miracle victory which would become to be known as "The Catch" among Iowa fans.

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• 2004 Big Ten Conference football season
• Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons
• Big Ten Conference football champion seasons
• Citrus Bowl champion seasons
• 2004 in sports in Iowa

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