Tag: Iowa Hawkeyes History

Iowa football all-time roster: Coaches, kickers and specialists

See which coaching and special teams legends made the cut in our all-time Iowa Hawkeyes football roster.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have a rich history with some of the game’s titans suiting up in the black and gold. Hawkeyes Wire is taking a look back at Iowa’s finest offensive playmakers, defensive standouts, specialists and coaches from its entire history.

After taking a look at the Hawkeyes’ all-time offensive and defensive teams, it’s now time to turn our attention the all-time specialists and coaches in Iowa history.

Specialists can change a game in an instant with a game-breaking return or a punt that pins an opponent deep or flips field position. Of course, the best assistant coaches help programs innovate offensively and defensively and keep the talent pipelines rolling.

The importance of a head coach can’t be overstated. The lifeblood and foundation of a program is set by the head coach. Iowa has had plenty of great options in terms of specialists, assistant coaches and head coaches.

Let’s take a look at the Hawkeyes’ all-time specialists and coaches.

See Iowa’s all-time offense and all-time defense. 

Check out our other College Wire all-time lineups: Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / LSU / Michigan / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin

Top 25 single-game Iowa Hawkeyes passing performances

Over its football history, these are the top 25 single-game passing performances in Iowa Hawkeyes history.

Among Power 5 teams, Iowa doesn’t have the history of air raid programs like say a Texas Tech. Still, that hasn’t stopped the Hawkeyes from putting together some eye-popping single-game passing performances from the quarterback position.

Also, the fact that Iowa hasn’t been constructed as an air raid program honestly makes these numbers more impressive. They are fewer and farther in between and that makes these games special when they’ve happened historically.

Hawkeyes Wire already broke down the top 25 single-season passing leaders in Iowa history. Now, let’s take a look at the top 25 single-game passing performances.

Top 25 passing seasons in Iowa Hawkeyes football history

What do the top 25 passing seasons in Hawkeyes history look like? Here’s the best passing seasons in Iowa’s black and gold.

While elite quarterback play and the University of Iowa might not be completely synonymous, the Hawkeyes have boasted some terrific signal-callers over their program history.

Chuck Long finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1985. Brad Banks did, too, back in 2002. Before those two, Randy Duncan had his own second-place Heisman Trophy finish in 1958 and Kenny Ploen earned the ninth-most votes in 1956.

During Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz’s tenure, Iowa’s quarterbacks haven’t always been asked or tasked to roll up big numbers in order to position the Hawkeyes for victories. Instead, the hallmark of great Hawkeye quarterback play under Ferentz has been ball security.

With that in mind, it doesn’t mean that some of the best performances under center still haven’t come over the last quarter century. In fact, some of the best quarterback seasons statistically have come during the Ferentz era.

What about Iowa’s entire history, though? Which quarterbacks have authored the best passing seasons in program history? Here’s a look at each of the top 25 Iowa single-season passing totals.