Iowa football’s greatest rivalry tales: From Notre Dame to Minnesota

IOWA CITY, Iowa — If you ask an Iowa fan about “the rivalry,” the response usually comes back with “Which one?”

The Hawkeyes’ oldest rival is Minnesota. Its most competitively balanced rival is Wisconsin. Iowa State is the in-state rival. Nebraska is the one that amps up the temperature on social media. Finally, if men’s basketball is involved, then Illinois enters the debate.

This is why Iowa argued for multiple protected football rivalries when the Big Ten expands to 18 teams next year. All of them matter for different reasons. Historically, the Hawkeyes have played the Gophers and Badgers almost annually since the 1890s. There’s plenty of equity building in the Nebraska-Iowa series with games falling on Black Friday. While Iowa State is not a Big Ten opponent, check out the parking lots during a Cy-Hawk game and you’ll see 25,000 extra fans tailgating. And it’s better to not mention the Bruce Pearl-Deon Thomas situation if you’re wearing the wrong color on the opposite side of the Mississippi River.

Rather than rank the Hawkeyes’ rivalries, this list is about rivalry moments. What are the infamous and interesting moments between Iowa and each of its fellow Big Ten members, plus Iowa State and Notre Dame? Let’s take a look.

15. Rutgers 

There’s very little shared history between the programs, who have played just four times. Perhaps the most interesting topic is that two of their encounters involved supreme punting, most notably “Puntpalooza in Piscataway” in 2022 between Adam Korsak and Tory Taylor.

14. Maryland

There’s more starch between the programs on the basketball floor, but like with Iowa-Rutgers, they’ve met only four times in football. If there’s an incident, perhaps it was the 2021 game at University Park, which Iowa won 51-14. The series picked up a little steam when Maryland’s Dontay Demus was injured on a kickoff. The crowd chanted “(Expletive) you, Iowa” loud enough to hear it in the press box.

13. Michigan State

For a series filled with numerous white-knuckle contests from start to finish, it’s amazing that the Spartans and Hawkeyes don’t have one stand-out rivalry moment. But there are plenty of anecdotes worthy of discussion.

Iowa was a swing vote that helped MSU earn a Big Ten bid over Pittsburgh in 1949. The Hawkeyes were the first official “Big Ten” opponent for Michigan State in 1953. They engaged in some high-voltage recruiting battles a decade ago or so, and Jerel Worthy’s “injuries” in 2011 laid the foundation for some unfortunate booing by Iowa fans. But probably the biggest moment came in the 2015 Big Ten title game when the Spartans outlasted the Hawkeyes 16-13 with a last-second touchdown.

12. Indiana

The teams no longer play with regularity but perhaps their most interesting encounter took place on Oct. 17, 1931. The teams tied 0-0 in their fifth all-time meeting but it wasn’t the score that had lasting power. Big Ten teams shared gate revenue with visitors — which they still do up to $1 million or 35 percent — although the revenues are syndicated throughout the league. On Dec. 31, Iowa Athletics wrote Indiana a check for $8,563.18 covering its share for visiting Iowa City. But Indiana did not cash the check in time, and the First National Bank of Iowa City failed on Jan. 2, 1932.

11. Wisconsin

The on-field battles between the Hawkeyes and Badgers have lasted for nearly 130 years. The off-field incidents are relatively tame in comparison despite their close proximity, outside of some vehicle vandalism.

Before Highway 151 became four lanes in 2005, Iowa teams would drive through several small southwest Wisconsin towns on the way to Madison. At Dickeyville, there always seemed to be a prolonged traffic light for Iowa’s buses, which were met by honking horns, full moons and fans leaving the Squirrel’s Nest Tavern holding signs reading “Herky Jerky,” “Chicken Hawks” and other slogans. It always happened every year on the Friday before their game at Camp Randall. On the way home, sometimes the cars returning to Iowa would do the honking (and mooning).

10. Purdue

This one is the least controversial and most collegial of the list. In the late 1920s, Iowa was found to have a slush fund in which Iowa City business leaders paid athletes’ expenses for housing, food, tuition and transportation. In other words, a collective provided scholarships for athletes. That was forbidden a century ago and despite other Big Ten schools doing the same thing, Iowa was caught and unapologetic. That resulted in the Hawkeyes’ eviction from the Big Ten in 1930.

Through several bouts of negotiations, Iowa was readmitted without a few dozen athletes and a handful of coaches. But the league football schedule already was set, and Iowa was considered a non-member for the 1930 season. The only Big Ten member agreeing to play Iowa was Purdue, which dropped its varsity game with Lombard College. According to the Lafayette (Ind.) “Journal & Courier,” Purdue officials were “very glad to be able to accommodate their old rivals.”

GO DEEPER

Slush funds and spite: The story behind Iowa’s short-lived Big Ten ouster

9. Penn State

In a top-five showdown in 2021, several Nittany Lions hit the turf coincidentally following Iowa big offensive plays. Fans failed to believe some of the players were legitimately injured and booed. Iowa rallied from a 14-point deficit to win 23-20, but the war of words only intensified after the game.

Both Penn State coach James Franklin and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz lashed at one another in a spat that lasted for nearly a week. Ferentz said, “Our fans thought they smelled a rat, I guess. I don’t know, and they responded the way they responded.”

Lots of talk about Penn State taking extra time, faking injuries against Iowa. Here's Kirk Ferentz's full statement on the situation from Saturday. pic.twitter.com/pubi5XYbiJ

— Mr. SOUNDOFF (@johnsears) October 12, 2021

With that incident as the backdrop, Penn State repeatedly showed clips of Iowa’s jeering fans in the locker room in the lead-up to the 2023 game. The Nittany Lions won 31-0, but it’s likely the hard feelings will last into their 2025 game and beyond.

8. Notre Dame

From 1951-1964, Iowa ended its regular season against the Fighting Irish, except for the day following President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. It largely was a competitive series and featured one infamous moment guided by Hall of Fame coaches Frank Leahy and Forest Evashevski.

In 1953, the top-ranked Irish trailed No. 9 Iowa by a touchdown in the closing minutes. Multiple Notre Dame “injuries” hit the turf after every play to stop the clock, which didn’t start until the snap. That ploy helped Notre Dame score the tying touchdown pass with six seconds left, and the game forever is known as the “Fainting Irish.”

On this day in 1953, @NDFootball found themselves out of timeouts twice vs. @HawkeyeFootball. The Irish faked injuries to stop the clock, scoring touchdowns at the end of both halves. The game ended in a 14-14 tie, and their rivals began calling them the “Fainting Irish.” pic.twitter.com/7zFvGg2cwO

— College Football Hall of Fame (@cfbhall) November 21, 2020

“I remember Evy’s famous quote and I’ll keep it clean,” quarterback Lou Matykiewicz said in 2017. “When the One Great Scorer comes to write against our name, he won’t write whether we won or lost, but how we got ‘robbed’ at Notre Dame.”

However, the incident cost Notre Dame a national title. The Irish slipped to No. 2 behind Maryland. The incident was summed up by legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice, who opined: “I consider it a complete violation of the spirit and ethics of the game and was sorry to see Notre Dame, of all teams, using this method. Why in Heaven’s name was it allowed?”

7. Michigan

The first consensus No. 1 versus No. 2 Big Ten game took place on Oct. 19, 1985, at Kinnick Stadium between top-ranked Iowa and Michigan. The Hawkeyes won on the game’s final play, 12-10, but the issue had nothing to do with the result. Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler was upset with how loud the Kinnick Stadium crowd was that afternoon.

Quarterback Jim Harbaugh repeatedly backed away from the center, complaining the crowd was too loud and his teammates couldn’t hear him. Back then, the officials held the ball until the crowd quieted down or issued a penalty on the home team. Eventually, the tactic worked and Michigan scored its only touchdown.

“Iowa fans should never criticize Wisconsin people,” Schembechler told reporters afterward, referencing the traditional raucous Camp Randall crowd. “Never!

“That’s just something fundamental in football. It’s just that Iowa people haven’t heard about it.”

6. Ohio State

On Oct. 15, 1977, the Buckeyes beat Iowa 27-6 at Kinnick Stadium. Afterward, Iowa men’s basketball player Mike Gatens — father of former Iowa player and current assistant Matt Gatens — went on the field and snatched Ohio State coach Woody Hayes’ hat off his head. Trainers tried to chase Gatens but gave up.

Later, Gatens wrote Hayes a letter of apology and sent $5 but also kept the hat. According to “The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette,” Gatens wrote that he took Hayes’ hat because he respected the coach and added, “After you defeat Michigan, let’s win the Rose Bowl for the Big Ten.” Hayes wrote back he initially planned to return the $5 but instead sent it to Ohio State’s University Development Fund. Hayes added, “Thank you again for your thoughtfulness, but particularly thank you for your integrity.”

5. Nebraska

Perhaps it lacks the importance in comparison to today’s sign-stealing operation from Michigan, but there was the “Football Film Flap” between the Hawkeyes and Huskers back in 1980. That offseason, Hayden Fry accused North Texas coach Jerry Moore or one of his assistants of providing Nebraska’s coaches with six game films and playbooks from when Fry coached the Mean Green. That year, Nebraska beat Iowa 57-0.

Fry said he found out two days before the game and complained vigorously afterward. Nebraska athletics director Bob Devaney responded by saying, “I think when you get beat 57-0, you ought to keep your mouth shut and say how good the other team was.” The next year, Iowa upset Nebraska 10-7 and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl.

However, Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst’s “we had to evaluate where Iowa was” comment in 2014 after firing Bo Pelini is one heck of a footnote to this section.

4. Northwestern

It has become a well-known story of how one team turned a slight into a rallying cry. In 1992, Iowa humiliated Northwestern 56-14 and won for the 19th consecutive time in the series. After the game, Iowa coach Hayden Fry met Northwestern counterpart Gary Barnett at midfield and uttered now infamous words.

“I hope we didn’t hurt any of your boys.”

“That made it even more important to me to beat Iowa,” Barnett said. “I’ll never forget those words. I repeated them every year before we played Iowa to our team and our coaches. I took them as condescending, and I embellished them as condescending.”

In 1995, Northwestern broke through with a 31-20 win to end a 21-year losing streak. From that year onward, the Wildcats lead the series with Iowa, 14-13.

Love it. There are a few others involving old-school rivalries that were even crazier, like the apple-throwing incident/field storm between Iowa-Illinois in 1952. They didn't play until 1967 after it.
Wrote this 10 years ago: https://t.co/knzW41AtVq

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) September 1, 2021

3. Illinois

If we comprised a list based on men’s basketball, the Illini-Hawkeyes rivalry would sit No. 1. But the football moment stands pretty high, too. In 1952, a series of officiating calls went against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City in an Illinois victory. As the Illini walked toward the locker room in Iowa Stadium’s northeast corner, the student section hurled insults and apples at the players and officials. Some students charged the field and one grabbed Illinois tight end Rocky Ryan by the shoulder. Ryan spun around and leveled the fan with a punch, breaking his jaw.

The chaos and ambiguity surrounding the situation — Illinois partisans considered it a riot, Iowa supporters thought it was just a mild incident — led to the schools opting for a cooling-off period. The schools did not play again until 1967, which meant some of the best teams and players in each school’s history never played against one another.

2. Iowa State

Every year seemingly an issue emerges with the Cy-Hawk, and it all stems from the Hawkeyes’ scheduling policy. After the 1934 season, Iowa’s Board in Control opted for policies against playing the Cyclones in 1935, 1960, 1964 and 1965. Officially it was to prevent “disharmony” while in reality, it was conceit.

Elected officials started applying pressure to resume the series in the mid-1960s and the athletics directors agreed to junior varsity football games and contests in other sports. In 1968, they struck a deal to compete in two football games beginning in 1977, then extended it through 1983. Iowa’s Board in Control then nullified the extension, which fueled the tension. With the board of regents split between Iowa and Iowa State supporters, the issue went to arbitration. In 1971, the arbitrator in favor of Iowa State and the teams have played annually from 1977 through the present, except for the 2020 COVID campaign.

1. Minnesota

The entire Floyd of Rosedale saga in 1935 is worth a book more than a blurb. It would rank first on any list and second is vacant. However, that’s far from the only incident between these ancient foes. So let’s switch to the most cantankerous in recent memory, which took place in 2002 at the Metrodome.

Who hates Iowa? WE HATE IOWA!!! https://t.co/1yJFNb4qEU pic.twitter.com/v6WQ3LNl6V

— GopherHole.com (@GopherHole) October 29, 2022

With more than 32,000 Iowa fans filling up “Kinnick North,” the Hawkeyes clinched an 8-0 Big Ten campaign in the season finale with a dominant 45-21 win. But that’s when the party started. Perhaps 10,000 of those fans made it to the field, then snapped Minnesota’s goal posts into two pieces. Iowa fans tried to carry the goal posts out of the stadium but the Metrodome’s revolving doors prevented it. With loud screeching noises and threats of arrest, the Iowa fans eventually scattered but the goal post crumbled like the leg lamp in “A Christmas Story.” It was deemed unusable for the Division II game scheduled for that night, and the Metropolitan Sports Commission charged Iowa Athletics $2,761.15 for a new goal post.

If Iowa fans want to know why the “Who Hates Iowa?” chant exists, this is the reason.

(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)