Iowa ices 10-1 season

(Published 11/24/1991)

IOWA CITY -

The Iowa Hawkeyes gave Hayden Fry a thousand reasons to cherish his 100th victory as the U of I football coach here Saturday afternoon.

The Hawkeyes punished Minnesota, 23-8, in the wind and cold and snow at Kinnick Stadium and they loved every frozen minute of it.

It was a day to remember:

Danan Hughes performed a snow angel in the end zone after catching a 45-yard TD pass.

Matt Rodgers returned from a knee injury to enjoy one of his best days as a Hawkeye and give Fry a big victory hug.

Floyd of Rosedale, that lovable pig, came home after a two-year sojourn in Minneapolis.

Referees got pelted with snowballs.

About 75 fans got kicked out of the stadium for throwing those snowballs and other things.

Three players - Iowa's Mike Wells and Bret Bielema and Minnesota's Chris Stogdill - got the boot for fighting late in the game.

Offensive linemen refused to wear long-sleeve sweat shirts as a testament to their toughness on a day when the wind chill plunged below zero.

And it was a day the ninth-ranked Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a 10-1 record and 7-1 Big Ten mark and still didn't make the Rose Bowl.

Crazy, crazy stuff.

"Man, was that a wild and woolly one?" asked Fry.

No doubt about it.

Now the Hawkeyes can thaw out and make plans for the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where they'll meet BYU on Dec. 30. It was 75 degrees in San Diego Saturday, and the Hawkeyes are ready for their third trip to the Holiday Bowl in six years.

"I remember we won (in 1987) and I remember the whales at Sea World," said Leroy "Sack man" Smith.

The whales, Leroy?

"They were just so big," he said.

So was Iowa's victory yesterday.

It must have been. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and U of I President Hunter Rawlings were among those greeting Fry after the game.

Branstad and Rawlings presented Fry with a cake decorated in Hawkeye colors in celebration of his 100th win in 13 years here.

"These have been hard to come by," said Fry after becoming only the eighth man in Big Ten history to collect 100 wins at one school. "It's put a lot of wear and tear on me and my coaches."

But this one was sweet.

It gave Iowa only the third 10-win season in school history.

It gave Iowa a seven-game winning streak in Big Ten games for the first time since 1920-23.

It means the Hawks can go to San Diego wearing a smile, not a frown like last year when they went to the Rose Bowl after a loss to Minnesota.

The grounds crew began shoveling 6 inches of snow off the field at 3 a.m. Saturday, and by game-time it was a little slick and snowy, but playable all the same.

Rodgers remembered playing in these conditions in high school and having a good day.

"I told Coach Fry that and made it clear I could throw in this stuff," he said.

And throw he did, completing 21 of 34 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns.

Alan Cross, the San Diego Kid, latched on to seven of those throws for 88 yards and a touchdown, and won't he love going home for the Holiday Bowl?

But Hughes took center stage with his two TD catches.

After his first, a 45-yarder, he stretched out on his back in the end zone and did one of those snow angels where you leave a shadow in the snow by moving your arms and legs.

"We used to do that when I was a little kid," smiled Hughes. "One time I almost got hit by a snow plow. I stopped doing it after that."

Hughes caught another TD pass from Rodgers in the fourth quarter on a 32-yard beauty, but this time he merely strutted his stuff in the end zone as U of I fans jumped on his back.

By then it was 23-zip and the day belonged to Iowa.

This was the farewell performance for Minnesota Coach John Gutekunst, sacked earlier this week after six years on the job.

"I told our players thank-you," he said. "I wish them all the best."

The Gophers (2-9, 1-7) fought Iowa snowball-for-snowball for 30 minutes before caving in as the day grew colder and colder.

The Hawks needed a 32-yard field goal by Jeff Skillett on the final play of the first half for a 3-0 lead at intermission.

But - surprise, surprise - the second half belonged to the Hawkeyes, as it did in every game this year except against Michigan.

Rodgers passed 11 yards to Cross for a TD, capping a 75-yard drive.

Rodgers passed 45 yards to Hughes for a TD, ending a season best 94-yard march to pay dirt.

Rodgers passed 32 yards to Hughes for another score, ending a snappy 47-yard drive.

As the man said, he can throw in this stuff.

"He looked like the all-Big Ten quarterback to me," said Fry.

Rodgers missed the last two weeks with a knee injury, but was in top form yesterday.

He joined Chuck Long as the only U of I quarterbacks to pass for more than 2,000 yards in three different seasons. Rodgers passed for 2,222 as a soph, for 2,228 last year, and for 2,054 heading to San Diego.

"My arm felt great," said Rodgers. "I had a couple of weeks' rest and I think my arm needed that."

It was a fond farewell for Rodgers and 20 other Hawkeye seniors at Kinnick Stadium.

Two years ago, Rodgers was a nervous sophomore who got his face mask yanked by Fry at Ohio State. Yesterday they hugged.

"We've been through a lot together, me and him," said Rodgers. "He's a winner, and he proved it with his 100th win today. He's a great coach and I love him."

Rodgers presented Fry with a plaque on behalf of the players in honor of his 100 victories.

And John Reid, executive director of the Holiday Bowl, gave Fry an official invitation to San Diego. "We accept," said Fry.

Iowa sold 69,500 tickets to this game. About 37,000 were smart enough to stay home, but they missed a dandy show.

Fry marveled at his team's execution in such brutal conditions, with the Hawks rolling up 390 yards and 23 first downs.

"Considering the weather I thought it was unbelievable," he said.

The Hawkeyes kept Minnesota off the board for 58 1/2 minutes before the Gophers scored on a 19-yard pass from backup quarterback Scott Schaffner to Paul Hopewell. The same duo hooked up for a two-point conversion pass.

"I was hoping for a goose egg personally," said Fry.

He got just about everything else.