The 2007 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 ...

during the

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2007 and ended on De ...

. Heading into the season, several players left the team while several other players ran into criminal allegations. Following a disappointing 2006 season that included losses 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 ...

, Northwestern and

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 ...

, the team was 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 ...

and played their six 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 ...

Previous season

Entering 2006 ranked 16th in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and 17th in the

Coaches Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

, the Hawkeyes had high hopes for the season. Following victories over

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, Iowa State 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 ...

, the Hawkeyes were 4–0 heading into their game with top-ranked

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 ...

. With tickets for the game going for US$500 on

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, the game was hyped as one of the biggest in Kinnick Stadium history. But

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 ...

Drew Tate Drew Tate (born October 8, 1984) is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the tight ends coach at the University of Northern Iowa, a position he had held since 2022. He played college football as a quarterback at the Univer ...

threw 3

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

, and the Hawkeyes lost 38–17. In total, Iowa had 4 turnovers while Ohio State had zero. Following the loss to Ohio State, Iowa proceeded to score a season-high 47 points in a victory over Purdue. But the most notable score came during the 4th quarter, when

Adam Shada Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

intercepted a

Curtis Painter Curtis Jeffrey Painter (born June 24, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. High school caree ...

pass and returned it a school record 98-yards for the

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 ...

. However, Iowa's joy would not last long, as the Hawkeyes were upset by Indiana only a week later. The 31–28 win was Indiana's biggest win since a victory over 9th-ranked Ohio State in 1987. From there, the season unraveled, and the Hawkeyes lost four of their remaining five games en route to a 6–6 record. The Hawkeyes were not invited to a bowl game following the conclusion of the 2007 season.

Before the season

On April 20, 2007, it was announced by Ferentz that two players,

Ryan Bain Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...

and Justin Edwards, were leaving the team. Both are planning on transferring to other schools. Bain, who had 56 career tackles, was later found guilty on charges of disorderly conduct. About two months later, it was announced that

Shonn Greene Shonn Greene (born August 21, 1985) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Iowa, where in 2008, he was recognized as a unanimous All-American and also won the Doak Walker Award and the Jim ...

and

Amari Spievey Amari Spievey (born April 15, 1988) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Iowa. He was considered one of the top cornerback prospects for the 2010 NFL Draft. He was picked in the 3rd round (66th overall) in the 2010 N ...

were no longer on the team. Greene, a junior

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 ...

, had 378 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his career. Another month later, and it was announced that Lucas Cox and Marcus Wilson were leaving the team. Wilson, a sophomore

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, played in all 13 games in 2006 and recorded 21 tackles and one interception. Earlier in July, senior defensive back Devan Moylan was given an additional year of eligibility. After suffering a leg injury in the fourth game of 2006 against Illinois, he applied for a medical hardship. Prior to the 2007 season, he had 28 tackles and one interception in his career.

Criminal charges

On August 20, 2007, two Hawkeye wide receivers were arrested and charged with the unauthorized use of a credit card. Dominique Douglas and

Anthony Bowman Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...

, both sophomores, were suspended indefinitely by Ferentz following allegations that they bought more than $2,000 in merchandise with stolen credit cards. The crime is a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

, and if convicted, the two players can face up to five years in prison along with a $7,500 fine. Another player, Arvell Nelson, also experienced trouble with the law. Nelson posted a $545 bond for failure to appear in court after being charged with driving with a suspended license. He also paid a $390 fine for not having insurance. 1 in every 10 Iowa football players during the 2007 season had off-field arrests, the highest among any year in Kirk Ferentz's tenure at Iowa.

Recruiting class

The Hawkeyes received 22

letters of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a contract, legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a Heads of agreement ( ...

National Signing Day National Signing Day has traditionally been the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for a collegiate sport with a school that is a member of the United States National Collegiate Athletic Association ( ...

, February 7, 2007.

Awards

Kenny Iwebema Kenny Iwebema (born February 6, 1985) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Early years While at Bowi ...

*:First-team all-Big Ten –

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

*:First-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com *

Mitch King Mitch King (born May 5, 1986) is a former American football defensive end. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Iowa. Early years King attended Burlington Community High School in ...

*:First-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *

Bryan Mattison Bryan Mattison (born May 15, 1984) is an American football center who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2008, and has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, St. Louis Rams, and the ...

*:First-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com * Mike Klinkenborg *:

Lott Trophy The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented annually to the college football defensive IMPACT player of the year. IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the ...

watch list *:

Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ameri ...

watch list *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *

Tony Moeaki Anthony Moeaki (born June 8, 1987) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Iowa. He was selected in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Seattl ...

Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ...

watch list * Albert Young *:Second-team all-Big Ten – CFN.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports * Dace Richardson *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Rivals.com *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *

Matt Kroul Matthew David Kroul (born February 25, 1986) is a former American football offensive guard. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2009. He played college football at Iowa, and high school at Mount Vernon High School. Pr ...

*:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *

*:Third-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports * Rafael Eubanks *:

Rimington Trophy The Dave Rimington Trophy is awarded to the player considered to be the best American football center in college football. Dave Rimington was a center who played at the University of Nebraska from 1979 to 1982. A member of the National College F ...

watch list *:Second-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports *

Seth Olsen Seth Olsen (born December 17, 1985) is a former American football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Iowa. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Early y ...

*:Third-team all-Big Ten – Athlon Sports

Schedule

Schedule notes

Due to the

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 ...

's rotating schedule, Iowa did not play either

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in 2007. Instead, Iowa played

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 ...

and

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 ...

, two teams that the Hawkeyes had not played since 2004. Iowa's schedule was ranked as the 9th toughest (or 3rd easiest) in the Big Ten by

SI.com ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

Roster

Coaches

Game summaries

Northern Illinois

Playing in

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...

in Chicago, the Hawkeyes defeated the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

16–3. Albert Young ran for 144 yards and a touchdown as Iowa's defense kept the Huskies from scoring a touchdown. Damian Sims also made his mark by running for 110 yards. The Hawkeyes held Northern Illinois to 21 yards rushing, and Charles Godfrey intercepted two Dan Nicholson passes. Sophomore quarterback Jake Christensen opened the season with 133 yards and one touchdown.

Syracuse

Behind a strong defensive performance, the Hawkeyes shut out the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference. The school's mascot is ...

. Rebounding from a shaky performance against Northern Illinois, Christensen threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. On special teams,

blocked two

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 ...

to help preserve the worst loss for Syracuse coach Greg Robinson in his tenure with the Orange. After the game, Syracuse

Curtis Brinkley said: The 35-point loss was Syracuse's most-lopsided since a 51–14 loss to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in the 2004

Champs Sports Bowl The Pop-Tarts Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Classi ...

Iowa State

*Source:''
ESPN
Iowa State kicked its way to a 15–13 victory in

Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Ok ...

Wisconsin

Iowa's defense forced three Wisconsin turnovers, but could not hold off the Badgers' 4th quarter rally, losing 17–13.

Indiana

Iowa was unable to contain a scoring explosion from Indiana, including three early touchdowns by Hoosier quarterback Kellen Lewis. Iowa added to its difficulties with penalties and breakdowns in pass protection. Although quarterback Jake Christensen passed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, he was sacked nine times, including four by Jammie Kirlew. The Hawkeyes also missed two field goals and an extra point.

Penn State

Quarterback Jake Christensen was sacked twice, and the Hawkeyes were held scoreless until an interception near the Penn State end zone set up Trey Stross' 4th-quarter touchdown reception in a 27–7 blowout loss on the road at Penn State. Iowa was held to eight first downs while Penn State had 26.

Illinois

Entering the game, Iowa had lost eight straight

games, with their last win a 47–17 decision over Purdue on October 7, 2006. Illinois, however, entered the game ranked 18th in the country, and was looking to become bowl eligible with a win over the Hawkeyes. From the very beginning, the game was a defensive one. The Hawkeyes held Illinois

Rashard Mendenhall to 67 yards, and slowed the nation's fifth-best rushing offense to 137 yards total. But the Illinois defense remained strong against the run, and held the Hawkeyes to a three yards per rush average. Illinois did not trail until late in the third quarter, when Iowa

Jake Christensen found

Brandon Myers down the middle for the

. With the score at 10–6 in favor of the Hawkeyes, the Illini made a switch to Eddie McGee at quarterback, after starter

Isiah Williams Isiah John "Juice" Williams (born November 19, 1987) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Illinois. After his senior year of high school in 2005, Williams was considered a top recruit for the quarterback pos ...

had a fumble recovered by Iowa. With McGee in, the Illini appeared to have stunned the

crowd with an 83-yard touchdown pass, but it was called back due to an Illinois penalty. Despite the penalty, Illinois was not done. On Illinois' final drive, McGee drove the Illini down to the Iowa 12 with passes of 28 and 24 yards to Arrelious Benn. But with 1:12 left in the game, a McGee pass was intercepted at the goal line by Iowa's Brett Greenwood. The win was Iowa's first over a ranked team since 2005.

Purdue

Michigan State

Northwestern

Minnesota

Western Michigan

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

member

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

surprised the Hawkeyes, 28–19, in

Iowa City 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 ...

Team players in the 2008 NFL Draft

2008 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com
/ref>

References

{{Iowa Hawkeyes football navbox

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

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 ...