A look back at 25 Iowa football seasons openers
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Regardless of the opponent, there always is something special about the Iowa football team’s season opener.
The feeling of anticipation combined with the thrill of competition and the smell of turkey legs creates a powerful force from which fans feed.
Saturday’s game against Miami of Ohio at Kinnick Stadium will be my 26th consecutive season opener covering the Hawkeyes, dating back to a 53-10 beat-down against Hawaii in 1991 at Kinnick Stadium.
My lasting memory from that game is how hot and humid it was on that September day.
Hawaii was expected to put up more resistance, but the game was a mismatch and served notice that Iowa wouldn’t go away quietly after having played in the Rose Bowl the previous season.
The victory over Hawaii was the start of a 10-1-1 season that ended with a 13-13 tie against Brigham Young in the Holiday Bowl.
Defensive end Leroy Smith developed into an unstoppable force during the 1991 season, earning consensus All-America honors. A converted running back from New Jersey, Smith set a Big Ten record with 18 quarterback sacks in 1991.
The 1992 season opener against North Carolina State was extra special because it marked not only my first time covering the Hawkeyes on the road, but the first time somebody besides my parents paid for my flight expenses.
North Carolina State defeated Iowa 24-14 in the 1992 season opener, which was billed as the Kickoff Classic and played in East Rutherford, N.J. The game hardly was a classic, though, as the Iowa offense mostly sputtered.
The 1992 season opener sort of served as a warning that Iowa might be coming back down to earth after having highly successful seasons in 1990 and 1991. Iowa would go on to finish 5-7 in 1992, beaten and battered by injuries and by a brutal schedule that included Miami (Fla.) and Colorado, both of whom were national powers at the time.
The 1993 season opener resulted in victory, but also raised concerns as Iowa escaped with a 26-25 victory over heavy underdog Tulsa at home. The concerns were warranted, considering Iowa finished 6-6 in 1993 and was held to seven or fewer points in four games.
The 1994 season opener created a unique buzz because of a 5-foot-9, 185-pound bundle of energy and excitement named Tim Dwight, who made his college debut against Central Michigan on Sept. 3, 1994.
Iowa cruised to a 52-21 victory, but would go on to finish just 5-5-1 as Dwight played mostly on special teams as a reserve running back that season. He then switched to receiver the following spring and now ranks as Iowa’s third all-time leading receiver with 2,271 yards on 139 receptions.
The 1995 season opener against Northern Iowa also had more than just the typical buzz that accompanies a season opener because it marked the first time that Iowa had faced the Panthers since 1914.
The game didn’t match the hype, though, as Iowa rolled to a 34-13 victory. The Hawkeyes would go on to finish 8-4 in 1995, capped by a 38-18 upset over Washington in the Sun Bowl.
Long-time Iowa defensive coordinator Bill Brashier retired shortly after the 1995 season and still lives in Iowa City with his wife.
Iowa played three more season openers under Hayden Fry before he retired shortly after the 1998 season.
A very talented 1996 Iowa squad edged an equally impressive Arizona team 21-20 in the season opener at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa finished 9-3 in 1996, the low point being an embarrassing 27-20 loss at Tulsa in the third game.
Iowa started the 1997 season in spectacular fashion, pounding Northern Iowa 66-0 at Kinnick Stadium behind the electrifying one-two punch of Dwight and running back Tavian Banks. The Hawkeyes improved to 4-0 that season as Banks emerged as an early Heisman Trophy candidate.
The team only won three more games, though, finishing a disappointing 7-5 with Banks and Dwight as seniors.
Fry’s final season opener in 1998 resulted in a 38-0 victory over Central Michigan. But there wasn’t much to celebrate from that point on as Iowa finished 3-8 that season. Fry, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, retired shortly after the season to focus on his health.
To say that Iowa struggled in its next season opener under new head coach Kirk Ferentz would be an understatement.
Nebraska still was a national power at the time and dismantled the Hawkeyes 42-7 at Kinnick Stadium in the 1999 season opener.
Iowa faced another quality Big 12 opponent in its next season opener, but this time on a neutral field. Kansas State defeated the Hawkeyes 27-7 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
That game will be remembered mostly for two things: the college debut of Iowa defensive back Bob Sanders, along with the heat and humidity. Sanders made some bone-jarring hits on special teams that day, but Mother Nature delivered the worst blow.
Iowa’s next two season openers against Kent State in 2001 and Akron in 2002 resulted in easy victories by scores of 51-0 and 57-21, respectively.
The 2003 season opener against Miami of Ohio was more competitive with Iowa prevailing 21-3 at Kinnick Stadium. RedHawk quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passed for 250 yards in his last of three games against Iowa, but was held without a touchdown against a Hawkeye defense that featured two young sophomore linebackers named Chad Greenway and Abdul Hodge and a hard-charging junior defensive end named Matt Roth.
Iowa won its next five season openers against Kent State, Ball State, Montana, Northern Illinois and Maine by a combined score of 198-20. The 41-7 victory over Montana in 2006 was significant – at least for the media – because it was the first game in which the Kinnick Stadium press box had air conditioning.
The Northern Illinois game was played in 2007 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Iowa prevailed 16-3 in a boring game that sort of symbolized Iowa’s 6-6 record that season.
The 2008 season opener against Maine was another mismatch as Iowa cruised to a 46-3 victory. The only storyline with that game was Ferentz’s connection to Maine, where he had been head coach from 1990-92.
That brings us to what nearly became Iowa’s most famous season opener, but for all the wrong reasons.
Iowa’s 2009 team ranks among the best in school history with its 11-2 record. But it also had to block two field goals in the final seconds to escape from Kinnick Stadium with a 17-16 victory over Northern Iowa in the 2009 season opener.
Ferentz now uses that game as a reminder that every opponent deserves equal respect and preparation, and that anything can happen in sports.
The 2010 season opener had little intrigue on the field as Iowa rolled to a 37-7 victory over Eastern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium. The game missed by one year of having a great subplot as former Iowa quarterback Jake Christensen had used up his eligibility the previous season at Eastern Illinois. Christensen transferred from Iowa to Eastern Illinois after losing the quarterback competition to Ricky Stanzi in 2008.
Iowa is 4-1 in its last five season openers dating back to the 2011 campaign when the Hawkeyes defeated Tennessee Tech 34-7 at rain-soaked Kinnick Stadium. That game is remembered mostly, if at all, for having a 1-hour, 24-minute lightning delay that prompted the evacuation of the grandstands midway through the third quarter.
The 2012 season opener saw Iowa face Northern Illinois again at Soldier Field. The Hawkeyes escaped with an 18-17 victory in Greg Davis’ first game as offensive coordinator. The offense performed sluggishly that day, moving more horizontal than vertical, and for the rest of the season as Iowa sputtered to a 4-8 record in 2012.
Damon Bullock provided most of the heroics in the 2012 season opener, rushing for a career-high 150 yards and scoring the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
The 2013 season opener featured a rematch of the 2012 season opener against Northern Illinois, only this game was played at Kinnick Stadium and won by the Huskies, 30-27.
Iowa won its last two season openers against Northern Iowa in 2014 and Illinois State in 2015 by scores of 31-23 and 31-14, respectively.
Which brings us to the current-day RedHawks, who hardly resemble the Miami of Ohio teams under Roethlisberger. This game will only be remembered should Iowa lose or if somebody does something spectacular with regard to statistics.
But for now, it’s special because it marks the start of another journey whose destination is uncertain.