Gridiron Glory- 2002

Quarterback Brad Banks
Quarterback Brad Banks

August 31
Starting the 2002 season with a bang, the Hawks scored a school-record 37 points in the first quarter, going on to beat Akron 57-21. It was senior quarterback Brad Banks’ first start for Iowa.

September 14
Ouch! The Hawks lost their fifth straight contest to Iowa State, 36-31.

September 21
Iowa chalked up its largest margin of victory for the season with a 48-7 win over the Utah State Aggies in Kinnick Stadium.

September 28
Despite allowing a 35-13 fourth quarter lead to slip away, Iowa rallied in overtime in Happy Valley to defeat 12th-ranked Penn State, 42-35.

October 26
It was Homecoming in Ann Arbor, but the only people partying were Hawkeyes after Iowa handed the 8th-ranked Wolverines their worst home loss since 1967. Winning its first game over Michigan since 1990, the Hawks trounced Big Blue 34-9.

November 2
Iowa rolled on and rolled over Wisconsin, 20-3, for its sixth consecutive conference win. 2002 marks the first time in school history that the Hawks began conference play with a perfect 6-0 record.

And that record kept going, as Iowa defeated Northwestern 62-10 and ended the regular season with a 45-21 victory over Minnesota. With an 8-0 Big Ten record, it was Iowa’s first perfect Big Ten season since 1922 (5-0) and first ever at 8-0.

With a share of the Big Ten championship (Ohio State also had a perfect 8-0 conference record) and a bowl game guarantee, Hawk fans bit their nails and wondered if Iowa quarterback Brad Banks would bring home the Heisman. He didn’t, but the community college transfer did finish second in the voting and became the fourth Hawkeye to do so. Chuck Long (1985), Randy Duncan (1958), and Alex Karras (1957) were also runners-up for the coveted award.

Record: 11 - 2
Head Coach: Kirk Ferentz

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