1995

September 30
In its first contest with the New Mexico State Aggies, the Hawks scored early and often, putting 42 points on the board in the first half to the opposition’s 0. Iowa’s offense was unstoppable before halftime, scoring every time it touched the ball. Sedrick Shaw, Tavian Banks, and Rodney Filer all ran for first-half touchdowns, and quarterback Matt Sherman threw for three scores. Tim Dwight was on the receiving end of two scoring aerials. Second-half scoring was more balanced, leading to a final score of 59-21.

Iowa’s five-game winning streak to begin the season turned ugly with four losses to Big Ten opponents midseason, but the Hawks came back to beat Wisconsin and Minnesota in November.

Iowa running back Sedrick Shaw runs hard up the middle against Wisconsin.

December 29
Longtime sports information director George Wine says no game has ever been better choreographed to take advantage of Hayden Fry’s coaching skills than the 1995 Sun Bowl. Finishing sixth in the Big Ten, Iowa was picked to go up against the Pac-10 co-champion Washington Huskies, and Hayden didn’t let anyone forget it. “We’re only a five-point underdog?” he asked. “Lawdy, lawdy, 20 to 25 points seems more like it to me!”

By game time, only two of 16 reporters covering the game thought Iowa would win. As Wine remembers it, “Hayden made a point to mention the survey results in his pre-game talk to his team. Just another example of the lack of respect Iowa was getting.”

Well, the boys fought back, proving their mettle against the Pac-10 favorite with a 38-18 win in the mountains of El Paso. The psychologist in Coach Fry had prevailed.

Copyright © 2005, University of Iowa Alumni Association Team names, logos, and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. No logos, photographs, videos, or graphics on this site may be reproduced without written permission.