2005Iowa Hawkeyes football
Outback Bowl, L 24–31 vs.Florida
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Kirk Ferentz (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ken O'Keefe (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Norm Parker (7th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium (Capacity: 70,585)
Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

The2005 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented theUniversity of Iowa during the2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Hawkeyes played their home games atKinnick Stadium inIowa City, Iowa and were coached byKirk Ferentz.

Iowa finished the season 7–5, including a record of 5–3 in theBig Ten Conference. Despite an up-and-down season, the Hawkeyes were invited to a Januarybowl game inFlorida for the fourth consecutive year.

After three consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins andco-Big Ten championships in 2002 and 2004, expectations were high. A thrilling last second victory overLSU in theCapital One Bowl capped a 10-2 campaign with eight consecutive victories. With the return of first-team All-Big Ten quarterbackDrew Tate,^[1] and first-team All-Big Ten linebackersAbdul Hodge^[1] andChad Greenway^[1] (a preseason All-American)^[2] anchoring the defense, the Hawkeyes were considered national title contenders by some publications. Indeed, the presence of a running game (the Hawkeyes ranked 115th nationally in rushing in 2004^[3] due to injuries) was thought to make Iowa even stronger. The Hawkeyes entered the seasonranked 11th in the AP Poll (10th in the Coaches' Poll), their highest preseason ranking in two decades.

^[4]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	11:00 am	Ball State*	No. 11	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 56–0	70,585
September 10	2:30 pm	atIowa State*	No. 8	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA (Battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy)	ABC	L 3–23	54,290
September 17	2:30 pm	No. 9(I-AA)Northern Iowa*	No. 22	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 45–21	70,585
September 24	11:00 am	at No. 8Ohio State	No. 21	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 6–31	105,225
October 1	11:00 am	Illinois		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN+	W 35–7	70,585
October 8	3:30 pm	atPurdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	W 34–17	64,785
October 15	11:00 am	Indiana		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPNU	W 38–21	70,585
October 22	11:00 am	Michigan		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	L 20–23OT	70,585
November 5	11:00 am	atNorthwestern		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	L 27–28	34,550
November 12	2:30 pm	at No. 19Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Battle for the Heartland Trophy)	ESPN	W 20–10	83,184
November 19	11:00 am	Minnesota		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Battle for the Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN2	W 52–28	70,585
January 2	10:00 am	vs. No. 16Florida*	No. 25	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 24–31	65,881
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inCentral time

The Hawkeyes opened the much-anticipated 2005 season against a Cardinals team that had 13 players suspended for the game. This one was over early as the Hawks raced to a 28-0 lead after one quarter. Iowa extended the advantage to 49-0 by halftime and cruised from there. Dating back to last season, this was the 9th consecutive win for the Hawkeyes.

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^[7][8]

The Panthers drove the ball effectively but it wasn't enough to overcome an early deficit.

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Illinois was able to drive the ball but Iowa limited them to just one touchdown in this homecoming game. Albert Young was a force on the ground rushing for over 100 yards with nearly eight yards a carry. One of the most memorable plays of the contest came on the Hawkeyes second touchdown as Ed Hinkel took a reverse 20 yards in for a score, jumping over an Illinois defender in the process.Kenny Iwebema also blocked two Illini field goals in the first half.

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BothDrew Tate andClinton Solomon had career games in this blowout on the road. Tate had over 350 yards passing with Solomon compiling 166 of them as Purdue had no answer for him.

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An overtime loss to the Wolverines snapped the Hawkeyes school-record 22-game winning streak atKinnick Stadium.

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Albert Young rushed for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for the Hawkeyes. After leading 24-7 at half and 27-14 after a Kyle Schlicher field goal with 10:58 remaining in the game, Iowa surrendered the lead and the game when the Wildcats scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left.

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In the final match-up of two formerHayden Fry assistant coaches,Kirk Ferentz prevailed to foilBarry Alvarez's home finale. Iowa's defense was smothering in this contest, holding the Badgers to their end of the field for the majority of the game.

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The Hawkeyes rolled to 613 yards of total offense in a blowout win on Senior Day. Iowa raced to a 35-0 lead and never looked back in retaining Floyd of Rosedale. Running backs Damian Sims andAlbert Young both rushed for more than 100 yards. Wide receiver Ed Hinkel capped his home career in grand style with four touchdown receptions, tying a school record and setting the Kinnick Stadium record. He finished the game with 151 yards on seven receptions.

^[23][24]

Despite allowing a blocked punt for a touchdown, an interception return for a touchdown, and an acrobatic catch for a touchdown with 0:01 before halftime, the Hawkeyes gave themselves a chance late in the game – one that ended in controversy. Iowa kicked a field goal with 1:24 left in the 4th quarter, which brought the game to a one possession lead by Florida. Iowa attempted an onside kick, and recovered the ball. However, flags were down, with the call being offsides against Iowa, giving the ball back to Florida. However, replays clearly showed no one offsides, even being pointed out by commentators. "Challenges" were not allowed in college football at this time, so Iowa had no way of arguing the questionable call.

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• Chad Greenway - First-team All-American

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• 2005 Big Ten Conference football season
• Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons
• 2005 in sports in Iowa

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