11/21/1981 (1981-1982)

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

#19 Iowa vs Michigan State #19 Iowa Hawkeyes Football vs Michigan State on 11/21/1981 - HawkeyeRecap.com

W 36 - 7

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Head Coach: Hayden Fry
Attendance: 60,103
Kickoff Temp: 65° F

RECAP

For the first time since 1959, the Hawks are bound for Pasadena! Iowa's win was marked by several key defensive plays and by the outstanding running of tailback Phil Blatcher. The 5-foot-9-inch, 188-pound senior from New Orleans smashed through the Spartan defense for 247 yards on 27 carries. Blatcher's yardage puts him second on the all-time Iowa single game rushing list. His Saturday total ranks behind that of Ed Podolak, who ran for 286 yards against Northwestern in 1968. The Hawks started off on the right foot with a James Erb blocked punt in the 1st quarter for a safety.

Around halftime, Michigan had lost to Ohio State, which opened the door for the Hawks to get the Rose Bowl bid with a victory.

With 10:54 left in the third quarter leading 16-7, Tracy Crocker's interception in the end zone could be considered the game-saver.

1 2 3 4 F

Iowa 16 0 20 0 36

Michigan State 0 7 0 0 7

SUMMARY

Game Summary Articles
+ Daily Iowan Game Recap
+ A trip down memory lane
+ Iowa Goes to Rose Bowl as Michigan Loses
+ NY Times Recap

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HIGHLIGHTS

FULL GAME

PLAYER GAME QUOTES

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COACH GAME QUOTES

Shoot, except for the money, I'd go out to Pasadena tomorrow if they'd let me, but I guess our team will probably go out Dec 22 or 23.
-- Hayden Fry

DETAILED TEAM STATS

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Statistics	Iowa	Michigan State
Total First Downs	25	18
Rushing Attempts	53	23
Rushing Yards	397	37
Rushing TDs	3	0
Yards per Rush	7.5	1.6
Passes Completed	10	21
Passes Attempts	23	46
Pass Completion %	43.5%	45.7%
Passing TDs	1	1
Passing Yards	91	219
Passing Yards per Completion	9.1	10.4
Passing Yards per Attempt	4.0	4.8
Touchdowns	4	1
Total Plays	76	69
% of Rushing Plays	69.7%	33.3%
% of Passing Plays	30.3%	66.7%
Total Offense	488	256
Yards per Play	6.4	3.7
Lost Fumbles	1	2
Interceptions	1	3
Turnovers	2	5
Penalties	9	9
Penalty Yards	83	81
Yards per Penalty	9.2	9.0
Possession Time

2025-2026 FB Record
6 - 3
(3 games remaining)

2025-2026 MBB Record
2 - 0
(29 games remaining)

2025-2026 WBB Record
2 - 0
(27 games remaining)

2025-2026 W Record
1 - 0
(22 games remaining)

2025-2026 WW Record
2 - 0
(18 games remaining)

11/21/1981 (1981-1982)

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

#19 Iowa vs Michigan State #19 Iowa Hawkeyes Football vs Michigan State on 11/21/1981 - HawkeyeRecap.com