1974 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

The 1974 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1974 Big Ten football season. In their first year under head coach Bob Commings, the Hawkeyes compiled a 3–8 record (2–6 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 308 to 157.^[1][2]

1974 Iowa Hawkeyes football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bob Commings (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Howard Vernon (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Coyer (1st season)
MVP	Rob Fick
Captains	Dan McCarney Earl Douthitt
Home stadium	Kinnick Stadium
Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Wisconsin	5	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Illinois	4	–	3	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Indiana	1	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1974 Hawkeyes gained 1,982 rushing yards and 1,193 passing yards. On defense, they gave up 3,180 rushing yards and 723 passing yards.^[3]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Robert Fick (79-of-165 passing, 1,059 yards), running back Jim Jensen (659 rushing yards), Bill Schultz (25 receptions for 432 yards), Rod Wellington (30 points scored), and Dan LeFleur (115 total tackles).^[4] Defensive back Earl Douthitt received first-team honors on the 1974 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Douthitt and offensive guard Dan McCarney were the team captains.^[5] Fick was selected as the team's most valuable player.^[6]

The team played its home games at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Home attendance totaled 291,600, an average of 48,600 per game.^[7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 14	at No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 7–24	76,802
September 21	No. 12 UCLA*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 21–10	47,500
September 28	No. 19 Penn State*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 0–27	46,500
October 5	at No. 9 USC*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 3–41	52,095
October 12	Northwestern	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 35–10	51,200
October 19	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 17–23	48,579
October 26	Illinois	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 14–12	49,400
November 2	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 14–38	51,107
November 9	Wisconsin	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 15–28	48,300
November 16	No. 4 Ohio State	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 10–35	48,700
November 23	at No. 14 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 21–60	51,002
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

At Michigan

Iowa at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Hawkeyes 0 0 0 7 7 • No. 6 Wolverines 7 7 10 0 24 Date: September 14 Location: Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI Game attendance: 76,802 Game weather: Sunny

Scoring summary 1 Mich Chuck Heater 2-yard run (Mike Lantry kick) Michigan 7–0 2 Mich Mark Elzinga 2-yard run (Mike Lantry kick) Michigan 14–0 3 Mich Chapman 10-yard pass from Mark Elzinga Michigan 21–0 Mich Mike Lantry 30-yard field goal Michigan 24–0 4 Iowa Rod Wellington 1-yard field run (kick) Michigan 24–7

See also: 1974 Michigan Wolverines football team

^[8]

UCLA

See also: 1974 UCLA Bruins football team

The victory over the 12th ranked Bruins snapped a 12-game losing streak and was only Iowa's second win in its last 19 games.^[9]

Penn State

See also: 1974 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

At USC

See also: 1974 USC Trojans football team

Northwestern

See also: 1974 Northwestern Wildcats football team

At Minnesota

See also: 1974 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Illinois

See also: 1974 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

At Purdue

See also: 1974 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Wisconsin

See also: 1974 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry

Ohio State

See also: 1974 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

At Michigan State

See also: 1974 Michigan State Spartans football team

Roster

1974 Iowa Hawkeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 72 Joe Devlin Jr FB 48 Mark Fetter Jr QB 17 Butch Caldwell   Jr QB 15 Rob Fick Sr RB   Tom Grine So RB 22 Jim Jensen Jr OL 60 Dan McCarney Sr QB 9 Bobby Ousley RB 41 Rod Wellington	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 20 Andre Jackson Jr DB 21 Jim Caldwell So DB 46 Earl Douthitt Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P   Joe Heppner K   Nick Quartaro So	Head coach Bob Commings Coordinators/assistant coaches Howard Vernon – Offensive Coordinator Larry Coyer – Defensive Coordinator Dave Beckman – Offensive line Kent Stephenson – Offensive line Dennis Green – Running backs Bill Whisler – Defensive line Dan McDonald – Defensive tackles Tom Cecchini – Linebackers Bernie Wyatt – Defensive ends Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the 1975 NFL draft

Main article: 1975 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Earl Douthitt	Defensive back	7	178	Chicago Bears

^[10]