#10: DECEMBER 26TH, 1984 – THE FREEDOM BOWL: IOWA 55, #19 Texas 17. Probably the all-time favorite of Hayden himself as the Texas boy leaves the Longhorns collective bells rung.
#9: DECEMBER 30TH, 1986 – THE HOLIDAY BOWL: #19 IOWA 39, San Diego State 38. One of the most exciting games, bowl or otherwise, of the Hayden era. Playing from behind against a team playing a virtual home game most of the night, Iowa makes several key plays down the stretch to win in the last second.
#8: SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1983: #7 IOWA 20, #3 Ohio State 14. The last Big Ten team Hayden beat, and the team that has remained the biggest thorn in the side of both Hayden and KFz (and the rest of the B1G), goes down via a late long pass by Chuck Long to Dave Moritz.
#7: NOVEMBER 14TH, 1981: IOWA 17, (at) Wisconsin 7. While Badger fans were counting the miles to Pasadena, having beaten both Michigan and Ohio State, it was the Hawkeyes who were the only team left, along with the Big Two, for a chance to go to the Rose Bowl the next week.
#6: NOVEMBER 3RD, 1990: #13 IOWA 54, (at #5) Illinois 28. A huge convoy of Chicago-area writers, expecting to write sycophantic columns of the greatness of Illinois, instead get bowled over by a train named Nick Bell, and the rest of Iowa, who plays a near perfect game for three quarters – THE game that got them into Rose Bowl #3 in the Hayden era.
#5: NOVEMER 21ST, 1981: #19 IOWA 36, Michigan State 7. “IT’S THE ROSE BOWL!” From punchline to Pasadena, Iowa rides the coat-tails of an earlier upset of Michigan by Ohio State all the way to their first bowl in almost 25 years – and the grand-daddy of them all at that.
#4: DECEMBER 29TH, 1995 – THE SUN BOWL: IOWA 38, #20 Washington 18. In a thorough butt-kicking of a team that, by all rights, should have been in the Rose Bowl that year, the Hawkeyes, after three straight subpar years, showed that they still had a few light-bolts left in the Hayden/Hawkeye laser gun.
#3: SEPTEMBER 12TH, 1981: IOWA 10, #6 Nebraska 7. Iowa FINALLY gets back onto the college football radar with an upset that they complete against the mighty Cornhuskers – something they had come up just short in doing in Hayden’s first season two years before. Just the first game of one incredible season.
#2: OCTOBER 17TH, 1981: #12 IOWA 9, (at #5) Michigan 7. To this day, THE biggest shocker of any of the games played and won by Hayden teams. To put the game on the foot of a freshman in front of almost 106,000 up in Ann Arbor takes a special kind of guts – but that, and a ferocious defense made it pay off. WHAT A VICTORY!!
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#9: DECEMBER 30TH, 1986 – THE HOLIDAY BOWL: #19 IOWA 39, San Diego State 38. One of the most exciting games, bowl or otherwise, of the Hayden era. Playing from behind against a team playing a virtual home game most of the night, Iowa makes several key plays down the stretch to win in the last second.
#8: SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1983: #7 IOWA 20, #3 Ohio State 14. The last Big Ten team Hayden beat, and the team that has remained the biggest thorn in the side of both Hayden and KFz (and the rest of the B1G), goes down via a late long pass by Chuck Long to Dave Moritz.
#7: NOVEMBER 14TH, 1981: IOWA 17, (at) Wisconsin 7. While Badger fans were counting the miles to Pasadena, having beaten both Michigan and Ohio State, it was the Hawkeyes who were the only team left, along with the Big Two, for a chance to go to the Rose Bowl the next week.
#6: NOVEMBER 3RD, 1990: #13 IOWA 54, (at #5) Illinois 28. A huge convoy of Chicago-area writers, expecting to write sycophantic columns of the greatness of Illinois, instead get bowled over by a train named Nick Bell, and the rest of Iowa, who plays a near perfect game for three quarters – THE game that got them into Rose Bowl #3 in the Hayden era.
#5: NOVEMER 21ST, 1981: #19 IOWA 36, Michigan State 7. “IT’S THE ROSE BOWL!” From punchline to Pasadena, Iowa rides the coat-tails of an earlier upset of Michigan by Ohio State all the way to their first bowl in almost 25 years – and the grand-daddy of them all at that.
#4: DECEMBER 29TH, 1995 – THE SUN BOWL: IOWA 38, #20 Washington 18. In a thorough butt-kicking of a team that, by all rights, should have been in the Rose Bowl that year, the Hawkeyes, after three straight subpar years, showed that they still had a few light-bolts left in the Hayden/Hawkeye laser gun.
#3: SEPTEMBER 12TH, 1981: IOWA 10, #6 Nebraska 7. Iowa FINALLY gets back onto the college football radar with an upset that they complete against the mighty Cornhuskers – something they had come up just short in doing in Hayden’s first season two years before. Just the first game of one incredible season.
#2: OCTOBER 17TH, 1981: #12 IOWA 9, (at #5) Michigan 7. To this day, THE biggest shocker of any of the games played and won by Hayden teams. To put the game on the foot of a freshman in front of almost 106,000 up in Ann Arbor takes a special kind of guts – but that, and a ferocious defense made it pay off. WHAT A VICTORY!!
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