The 2001 Iowa Hawkeyes football team represented the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and the

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 1899 ...

program during the

2001 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time. The Hurricanes were led by Larry Coker, who was in his f ...

. Coached by

Kirk Ferentz Kirk James Ferentz (born August 1, 1955) is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since the 1999 season. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the ...

, the Hawkeyes played their home games at

Kinnick Stadium Nile Kinnick Stadium is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes football team. First opened in 1929 as Iowa Stadium to replace Iowa Field, it currently holds up to 69,250 peo ...

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

Leading up to the season

Previous season

Iowa opened the 2000 season with five straight losses, adding to a losing streak that totaled 13 games when the Hawkeyes lost to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

on September 30, 2000. However, the streak came to an end a week later, when the Hawks defeated

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, 21–16, giving Ferentz his first ever

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

win as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

at Iowa. Following a three-game losing streak, the Hawkeyes traveled to

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

, for a game against

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. The Hawks won the game, 26–23, and followed it up the next week with another win, this time over Northwestern. The 27–17 victory gave Iowa a two-game winning streak, something that had not occurred for the Hawkeyes since the 1997 season. Iowa finished the season with a 27–24 loss on November 18, 2000, against

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Season outlook

2001 was marked as a potential turning point for the Hawkeyes, a year in which a bowl berth was entirely possible. The Hawks returned two potential starters at

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in Kyle McCann and Jon Beutjer, and even received playing time from

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

transfer

Brad Banks Brad Banks (born April 22, 1980) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Iowa where he was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. Early years Banks attended Glades Central High School where he was a First-team ...

during the season.

Ladell Betts Ladell Betts (born August 27, 1979) is an American football coach and former running back who is currently the running backs coach at the University of Iowa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He ...

and

Kahlil Hill Kahlil Hill (born March 18, 1979) is a professional American and Canadian football wide receiver. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He has played for the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bill ...

came back for their senior seasons at the

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and wide receiver positions respectively. Hill would go on win the

Mosi Tatupu Award Mosi or MOSI may refer to: * Mosi (given name) * Mosi (surname) * Molybdenum silicide (MoSi2), an important material in the semiconductor industry * MOSI protocol, an extension of the basic MSI cache coherency protocol * MOSI, Master Out Slave I ...

following the completion of the season. On

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, the Hawkeyes looked to improve on their rushing defense numbers from the previous season. In 2000, Iowa gave up 194.3 yards rushing, ninth in the Big Ten.

Aaron Kampman Aaron Allan Kampman (; born November 30, 1979) is a former American football defensive end who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa. He was drafted by Green Bay Packer ...

returned for his senior season on the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

, while fellow senior Mike Dolezal looked to replace LeVar Woods and Derrick Davison at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

. Iowa's passing defense in 2000 allowed 247 yards passing a game, tenth in the Big Ten. It was thought that added experience in that area would help improve that aspect of Iowa's defense. The

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

returned Hill and

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

Nate Kaeding Nathaniel James Kaeding (born March 26, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played the majority of his career with the San Diego Chargers and retired after the ...

, who hit 14-of-22

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

and 20-of-20

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

s during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

season. In 2000, Hill finished second in the Big Ten with a 27.2-yard

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...

return average. Hill was also named to the first-team all-Big Ten team by the ''

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' for his 2000 performances.

Season

Schedule

Iowa's schedule did not include Big Ten teams

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 2001.

Roster

The following is the roster from Iowa's 2001 season.

Game summaries

Kent State

*Sources:''
Scoring Summary
Opening the season on September 1, 2001, the Hawkeyes defeated the

Kent State Golden Flashes The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level with football competing in ...

, 51–0, in front of 56,091 fans at Kinnick Stadium. The win was Iowa's first in a season opener under Ferentz, and it improved the Hawkeyes' record in season openers to 80–31–2. On offense, Betts ran for 99 yards, while fellow running back Aaron Greving scored three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. In total, Iowa ran for 331 yards, which compared favorably to the 113 yards for Kent State. Jeremy Allen and Fred Russell also contributed, with 73 and 46 rushing yards respectively. Allen also scored the first touchdown of his career during the game, on a 14-yard run during the first quarter. Defensively, the Hawkeyes held Kent State to 13

first down A down is a period in which a play transpires in gridiron football. The down is a distinguishing characteristic of the game compared to other codes of football, but is synonymous with a "tackle" in rugby league. The team in possession of the f ...

s and 203 total offensive yards. Iowa held the Golden Flashes to 90 yards passing; Kent State quarterback Jeff Valentino completed 3 of his 13 passes for 35 yards before being taken out of the game. McCann and Banks threw for 165 and 71 yards respectively, while

Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark (born June 12, 1979) is a former American football tight end who played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa, earned unanimous All-American honors, and was reco ...

led the Hawks in receiving, with five catches for 84 yards. The loss was Kent State's sixth straight, dating back to the previous season. For Iowa, the win capped a week in which Beutjer, a possible starter at quarterback, left the team. Beutjer cited feeling "betrayed" by Iowa coaches, and Iowa player Bruce Nelson said that it would not "disrupt what we've got going." Following the game, Ferentz noted that practice on the Thursday before the game was the best in his tenure at Iowa, while Kent State head coach

Dean Pees Russell Dean Pees (born September 4, 1949) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patrio ...

expressed disappointment in his team's performance. The next week, Kent State ended their six-game losing streak with a 38–17 victory over Bucknell.

Miami University

*Sources:''
Box Score and Game Recap

Penn State

Purdue

Michigan State

Indiana

ran for 172 yards and a touchdown, and Kahlil Hill had 93 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the Hawkeye victory over Indiana.

Michigan

Wisconsin

Northwestern

*Source: Box Score and Game Recap
/small>

Minnesota

The Hawkeyes closed out their home schedule at 5–1 by blasting Minnesota. Iowa led 21–0 after the first quarter, 28–3 at half, and 42–10 after three quarters before cruising to the 18 point win. Kyle McCann threw 3 TD passes and ran for a TD. After losing three straight in the series, this was the first of five consecutive wins for the Hawks over the Gophers.

Iowa State

The annual battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy was scheduled originally for September 15, but due to the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, it was postponed or canceled like all sporting events planned for that weekend. The game was rescheduled for November 24, which turned out to be a natural fit since many other major rivalries were played that weekend. The Cyclones scored a touchdown in each of the first two quarters to head into halftime with a 14–0 lead. Iowa finally responded in the third quarter with two touchdowns from

, who also rushed for 150 yards on the day. The final scoring play of the game came early in the fourth quarter, with Tony Yelk kicking a 32-yard field goal to put the Cyclones up 17–14. An interception by Adam Runk with 1:37 remaining sealed the game for the Cyclones.

Alamo Bowl

*Sources:''
Box score
Backup RB Aaron Greving ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and Nate Kaeding kicked four field goals, including the game-winner from 47 yards with 44 seconds remaining. The Hawkeyes earned their first bowl win under Kirk Ferentz and first since shutting out Texas Tech in the

1996 Alamo Bowl The 1996 Alamo Bowl featured the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Background Iowa was in their eighth week (non consecutive) of being ranked, with one highlight win being over #10 Penn State. Though they finished tied for 2nd in the ...

. The victory served as a springboard for the memorable 2002 season.

Awards and honors

Team players in the 2002 NFL Draft

References

General

References

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Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Iowa Hawkeyes football seasons Alamo Bowl champion seasons