I'm aware it's been 30 years but material wise the 85 team was loaded! 3 guys went in the first 17 picks of the first round, Long, Harmon, and Haight. Number 1 for 6 weeks. Lost to in a down pour at OSU. They had Chris Speilman, Chris Carter and were jacked to play us. We were in the hunt late in the 4th and Long had a rare off day on a Rainy slick field. I don't even want to get into losing the RoseBowl. We had much better team. 1960 team had best chance at National. Championship. Lost 1 game . They were No.1 and lost at No.2 Minn. 2002 was best in this era. Great players all over the place!
1985 Hawks
- Thread starter BK Hawk1
- Start date
Yah, but how many stars did those guys rate with their high school careers?
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Like it has been said many times before, even if Ricky does not get hurt and we go undefeated, there is the slight problem that Bama and Texas were also undefeated. We were not jumping them
I'm not sure how the polls would have turned out. I know Stanzi was out, but I was in Columbus the next week and Vandenburg looked like the 2nd coming of Tom Brady for a lot of the game and the receiving corp had some great receptions. What I remember most is Kirk playing it conservative late and us getting our ass burnt in overtime!
The '85 team was better than any of the KF teams. We lose to a very good tOSU team in the rain, and lose the Rose Bowl when Larry Station gets hurt and Ronnie "goat" Harmon decides money is more important than glory.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.....
What I remember is Ohio native Stross dropping a perfect TD pass in the chest. I also remember him dropping another perfect first down in his hands, and another drop at the goal line. I feel bad for him, because that game will always haunt him.
It's highly questionable to say that Iowa would have won the game in Columbus with a healthy Stanzi. Vandenburg played the game of his life that day, and there were several other non-QB factors that led to Iowa's defeat (Trey Stross dropped passes, missed 22 yard FG by Murray, 229 rushing yards allowed by the defense). About the only logical argument that you could present is that KF would have gone for it at the end of regulation, but he's always been a chickenshit coward at heart, so even that contention is dubious. And we still might have lost anyway.
With a healthy Stanzi we certainly beat Northwestern, but a loss in Cbus leaves us at 11-1 (7-1) and we still don't play in the Rose Bowl.
With a healthy Stanzi we certainly beat Northwestern, but a loss in Cbus leaves us at 11-1 (7-1) and we still don't play in the Rose Bowl.
I still think about the game with Michigan that year. Iowa was number #1, Michigan was #2. With a national audience watching Rob H. kicks the winning FG in the final seconds for the win. What a sweet memory that was.
2009 team wouldn't have beaten Northwestern even if Stanzi was healthy. NU had shut him down for three series before the injury.
LOL, we scored 10 points in like the first 5 minutes of the game, not to mention the fact that if you take away the TD they got on the play where Stanzi was injured, they don't have enough points to win the game, anyway.
The 2009 team was special. I know it gets flak for the UNI game but it played four teams with 10+ wins with three of those games away from Kinnick and one on a neutral field. Add a 7-6 Iowa St team and an 8-5 Arizona team to the NC schedule. For the Big ten schedule Wisc, OSU and PSU were 10 win teams. NW was an 8 win team. This is easily one of the most difficult schedules in the 1980+ era for Iowa.
The 85 team played three good to great teams on the schedule. OSU, Michigan and UCLA. Long choked on one game and Harmon choked in the other. But in both losses, I felt Iowa was not the more physical team. Otherwise, the best wins were against a 7-5 Mich St and a 7-5 MN.
I'd take the 2009 team.
The 85 team played three good to great teams on the schedule. OSU, Michigan and UCLA. Long choked on one game and Harmon choked in the other. But in both losses, I felt Iowa was not the more physical team. Otherwise, the best wins were against a 7-5 Mich St and a 7-5 MN.
I'd take the 2009 team.
2009 got lucky in a bunch of games. They very definitely should have lost to UNI, and MSU was an absolute miracle. Neither of those opponents were particularly good.
ohh ok - so the last minute drive in the 85 Mich St game at Kinnick was a combination of skill and great coaching and the one at east lansing in 2009 was "lucky". Gotcha.
No, the 2009 team was coached by Kirk Ferentz. That's the only reason why...........obviously.
The '85 team was the most exciting team Iowa has ever fielded. Ever.
My BIL started on that team. He and a lot of his teammates certainly thought the fumbles were intentional.
Never said that, dumbass. The point is that your characterization of '09 somehow being significantly better than any of the other teams mentioned here is laughably stupid. Anyone with half a brain knows that '85 or '02 would kick their ass.
Don't forget the WIDE OPEN would-be TD pass that went through his fingers in the Ez on the 2nd or 3rd offensive drive of the game.
We shut you down after those first 5 minutes didn't we, while scoring 17 unanswered points to finish the game. Sorry, but Stanzi got all shaky when he saw purple. He fumbled all over the place in 2008, fumbled again in 2009, and threw costly picks in 2010. Zero and three for Stanzi the Pansy.
Seriously? A Northwestern fan?
That's like spotting an albino crocodile. I've never actually seen one in the wild before. Must get lonely for you.
I don't think anyone believes Ronnie dropped passes intentionally in the Rose Bowl. That allegedly happened in the AFC championship game when he dropped a sure TD pass for the Bills. The suspicion about the Rose Bowl was about fumbles -- not dropped passes.
I'm not saying he did or didn't fumble intentionally, but plenty of people very close to the program at the time suspect he did. Likewise, there are plenty of folks who think he threw the AFC championship game, too. Both games certainly looked fishy -- I don't think that can really be argued. He was a great Hawk and a terrific pro player. I sure hope it was just coincidence.
He absolutely did drop a sure TD in the first quarter of the Rose Bowl. Every bit as suspicious as any of the fumbles.
Being one of the best backs, if not the best back, in Hawk football history he has never been invited back to be an acting co-captain. I also think 30 yrs. later there is still some bad feelings for Harmon from older Hawk fans. The dropped pass in the end zone plus 4 fumbles, if he wasn't on the take he must of bet heavily on UCLA in Vegas.
Harmon was named Honorary Captain in 2006 for the #1 OSU at #13 Iowa game
http://www.hawkeyesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092706aac.html
lol. yet you can't support any of your arguments with facts or statistics. I will add a few more questions to ponder:
Which team had the most difficult schedule? already answered
Which team had the best defense? This might be the most important answer.
Which team had the best record against 9+ win teams? already answered
Which team won the bowl game?
Which team had the highest ranking at the end of the season?
Which team had the most NFL players?
My bad. I must have suppressed that memory. In any case, Harmon's '86 Rose Bowl was known more for the 4 fumbles than for the 1 drop. I'd assert that dropped TD pass for the Bills was easily his most notorious drop.
