Finally! Hawks get 1st winning season since 1961 by ripping Purdue

(Published 11/8/1981)

IOWA CITY -

As Hayden Fry said, with his best rebel yell, WAAAAA-HOOOOOO!

Was it Iowa's merciless defense or a newly revitalized Hawkeye offense that beat Purdue 33-7 Saturday an brought a slew of negative streaks and jinxes to a crashing end?

Hah! Don't ask Purdue.

When you're being cut up by a buzz saw, you don't know which tooth hurt you the most.

Another howling, overflow crowd of 60,114 did't much care, either, because the Iowa fans saluted both platoons equally as the Hawks clawed their way back into the Big Ten title picture and got more monkeys off their backs than seemed possible, such as:

l The Big Ten's longest losing football streak of one school to another was halted at 20. Iowa hadn't beaten Purdue since 1960.

l The nation's longest string of non-winning football seasons was snubbed at 19. The Hawks, certain to finish no worse than 6-5 now, hadn't finished above .500 since 1961, and now Rice holds the unpleasant honor with 17 straight non-winning campaigns.

l Iowa stopped a two-game losing streak, put its season record at 6-3, and is tied for third in the Big Ten with Ohio State at 4-2, both just a half-game behind Michigan and Wisconsin, which stand 5-2.

l It was the opening day of Iowa's hunting season, so Fry appropriately equipped his Hawks with a new shotgun - a shotgun offense in which quarterback Gordie Bohannon dropped back six yards and took a direct snap from center.

Did it work? Waaa-hooo!

That ended the Hawks' fourth drought. They had scored only two touchdowns in the last 13 quarters, but this time the new offense, plus determination by the offensive players, scored three touchdowns and two field goals, gladly allowing the defense the thrill of converting a blocked punt into the fourth TD of the day.

When the almost perfect football afternoon drew to a close - and both of the Kinnick Stadium goal posts miraculously went undamaged - news media members were surprised to hear Fry declare:

"That's the greatest victory I've ever been associated with!"

What's that, coach? Didn't you say the same thing about Iowa's previous victories this year over three teams - Nebraska, UCLA and Michigan - each ranked sixth nationally at the time?

"Yes, but at least we've got that streak of losing seasons off our back," Fry continued. "Twenty years! That's a long time."

The Hawkeye coach came into the interview room wearing a plastic eyeshade that had four blinking red lights around its crown.

"Waaaaa-Hoooooo!" he exhaled. "Twenty cotton-pickin' years, and we finally did it. We had a great opportunity to fold our tent for the season after last week, and we didn't do it."

Fry apologized for keeping the press waiting for an extra five minutes or so.

"We had a little celebration upstairs with a cake... I'm so happy I canceled our Sunday morning workout. That tickled the guys so much they're probably dancin' the hokey-pokey again."

Fry and the Hawks had reason to celebrate. They had just limited Purdue, which had scored 33 points last week in a 45-33 loss to Ohio State, to seven points, and those came with 3:58 to go against Iowa reserves.

Purdue came in with the nation's leading passer, Scott Campbell, and the nation's top receiver, Steve Bryant. The Boilers didn't penetrate Iowa's 49-yard line until after the score was 23-0 midway in the second quarter.

Campbell did complete 21 of 41 passes, but the Hawks intercepted two, and they held the vaunted Bryant to a single reception, and that for only nine yards!

Asked if Iowa kept Bryant under control by putting two men on him, Purdue coach Jim Young replied, "No, they just played basic coverage and did a good job of defensing him, plus they put on a good pass rush, too."

Young also told Fry something when they met for their postgame midfield handshake that delighted the Iowa coach.

"Coach Young was very complimentary and generous," Fry said. "He said he had been coaching a long time, and he couldn't believe we shut down his team like that. Then, as he was turning away, he asked me, 'Where did you get that offense?' I had to tell him, 'Off the Purdue game films.'"

It's true Purdue has had great success with the shotgun offense, but Fry noted it actually was started by Coach Ray Morrison of SMU "about 56 years ago when he used it against Knute Rockne of Notre Dame."

The Hawks turned loose the shotgun as soon as Stormin' Norman Granger had returned the opening kickoff 24 yards to the Iowa 30.

The touchdown deluge didn't start then, however. Instead, Iowa ran into fourth down at the Purdue 25, so freshman Tom Nichol came in and booted a 42-yard field goal with less than two minutes gone.

But Purdue ran into an aroused Iowa defense at midfield and had to punt. The Boilers' freshman punter, Matt Kinzer, shanked one 14 yards and the Hawkeye offense couldn't wait to go again.

Bohannon hit Jeff Brown with a 26-yard pass, and Phil Blatcher rambled 21 yards to the Purdue 21. On third-and-goal, Dave Moritz caught Bo's pass a yard short of the goal, then fumbled when tackled but recovered it.

Did the Hawks think about another field goal? Don't be silly. They merely sent Blatcher flying over left guard for the touchdown.

Less than seven minutes of playing time later the Hawks got another. Big one in this drive was Bo's 33-yard pass - off the shotgun, naturally - to Blatcher. With first down on the 12, Bohannon recoiled a bit off the shotgun, as if to pass, then dashed through the scattered defenders for his first touchdown of the season.

That made the score 17-0 with 1:48 to go in the first quarter, as Nichol converted both extra points.

Purdue still could make no headway offensively, so Kinzer went back to punt with the scrimmage line on Purdue's 35. The snap from center was juggled momentarily, and linebacker Jim Erb beat several Hawkeye teammates to the meeting place. Erby blocked the kick, and senior Tracy Crocker won the honor of cuddling the ball in the end zone for his first Iowa score.

This time Nichol's kick was wide, but the crowd was becoming convinced one point wouldn't matter now.

The defense didn't let up, however. When the Boilers finally pushed into Iowa territory and reached the 8-yard line, the Hawks dug in and held for downs. Indeed, Packy Webb added insult to injury by sacking Campbell for a 13-yard loss on fourth down.

Reggie Roby got off a 53-yard punt, an omen of things to come. Purdue coughed up the ball on Todd Simonsen's interception and nine-yard return to the Purdue 23.

Bohannon pulled the quarterback draw for 16 yards, then called timeout with 10 seconds remaining. He huddled with Fry and the strategy board, and everyone - Purdue included - was sure the Hawks would try something new.

Back went Bo on the shotgun again, and again he shot up the middle, found a couple of blocks, spun away from a tackler and scored on a 7-yarder. Nichol was back in form again, 30-0 at the half.

It won't take long to tell the story of the second-half scoring. Both teams had chances, but Iowa's only points came on Nichol's 48-yard field goal with three minutes gone in the third quarter. That was the longest of his freshman season. Later he missed on a 49-yard try.

Purdue pushed to Iowa's seven-yard line later in the period, but the Hawks defended perfectly against Campbell's three straight passes.

Early in the final quarter Purdue reached the Iowa three. But four plays later the Boilers surrendered the ball back at the four.

Third time was the charm for Purdue. Aided by a face mask penalty, the visitors took advantage of green spots among Iowa's reserves and reached the one-yard line. The Boilers had lost several running backs with injuries, so sub Jeff Feulner lunged over to spoil the shutout. Tim C

lark converted on his 17th extra point kick of the season.

Lou King got his fifth interception of the season just before the half, and Webb, Crocker and Mel Cole led in tackles with eight each (counting solos and assists). Andre Tippett had two sacks for 12 yards, and Webb, Jim Pekar, Mark Bortz, Bryan Skradis and Straun Joseph each had one sack.