SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1983 - #7 IOWA 20, #3 Ohio State 14. By the time Hayden and his team reached their home opener for this season, they had beaten every Big 10 school - and had just beaten future B1G member Penn State in State College the week before - every school EXCEPT Ohio State. And it sure didn't look good as Iowa faced a daunting opponent. Iowa hadn't beaten the Buckeyes in 21 years - a 17-game losing streak.
The Buckeyes were on a current 9-game winning streak dating back to the previous season, and had just gone down to Oklahoma and beat the mighty Sooners by 10 points. In head coach Earle Bruce's last three games against the Hawkeyes (dating back to his previous tenure at Iowa State), his teams had outscored Iowa by a ridiculous 106-14. And with future NFL veteran Mike Tomczak at quarterback, it is hard to say how serious Hawk fans took the prospect of winning this game, even in their own back yard.
But with a balanced offense that kept the aggressive Buckeye defense far more on their heals than what they were used to, and a nasty defense led by LB Larry Station that was bound and determined to not give up the 30+ points they had given up in the last game, the Hawks kept it close, leading 13-7 midway through the 4th quarter.
Then it happened - with Iowa facing a pivotal 3rd and 7 deep in their own territory, QB Chuck Long spotted wideout Dave Moritz matched up 1-on-1 with future NFL'er Shaun Gayle, and the big-armed sophomore dropped a long pass right on target and dead in stride and with enough to let Moritz zig-zag the rest of the way for a clinching 74-yard score.
The vaunted Tomczak was held to a career-worst 13-34 passing with 3 interceptions. Meanwhile Long shared the wealth, hitting Mike Hufford 5 times for 74 yards and Iowa's first TD and Ronnie Harmon 4 times for an additional 61 yards. The next week, Iowa would hit a new high-water mark in the Hayden era, being ranked 4th in the country, the highest they would see until they reached #1 in 1985 - a perch they were quickly knocked off of in a shut-out loss at Illinois the next week.
The game highlights are here: .
And if you want to see this absolute classic, here is the whole game: .
The Buckeyes were on a current 9-game winning streak dating back to the previous season, and had just gone down to Oklahoma and beat the mighty Sooners by 10 points. In head coach Earle Bruce's last three games against the Hawkeyes (dating back to his previous tenure at Iowa State), his teams had outscored Iowa by a ridiculous 106-14. And with future NFL veteran Mike Tomczak at quarterback, it is hard to say how serious Hawk fans took the prospect of winning this game, even in their own back yard.
But with a balanced offense that kept the aggressive Buckeye defense far more on their heals than what they were used to, and a nasty defense led by LB Larry Station that was bound and determined to not give up the 30+ points they had given up in the last game, the Hawks kept it close, leading 13-7 midway through the 4th quarter.
Then it happened - with Iowa facing a pivotal 3rd and 7 deep in their own territory, QB Chuck Long spotted wideout Dave Moritz matched up 1-on-1 with future NFL'er Shaun Gayle, and the big-armed sophomore dropped a long pass right on target and dead in stride and with enough to let Moritz zig-zag the rest of the way for a clinching 74-yard score.
The vaunted Tomczak was held to a career-worst 13-34 passing with 3 interceptions. Meanwhile Long shared the wealth, hitting Mike Hufford 5 times for 74 yards and Iowa's first TD and Ronnie Harmon 4 times for an additional 61 yards. The next week, Iowa would hit a new high-water mark in the Hayden era, being ranked 4th in the country, the highest they would see until they reached #1 in 1985 - a perch they were quickly knocked off of in a shut-out loss at Illinois the next week.
The game highlights are here: .
And if you want to see this absolute classic, here is the whole game: .
