9/30/1961 (1961-1962)

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

#1 Iowa vs California #1 Iowa Hawkeyes Football vs California on 9/30/1961 - HawkeyeRecap.com

W 28 - 7

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Head Coach: Jerry Burns
Attendance: 56,000

RECAP

Iowa was the #1 team in the country in its opening game of the season. It was Jerry Burns first game as head coach for Iowa who had taken over for legendary head coach Forrest Evashevski. On a rainy day Iowa won the game, but did not play like the #1 team in the country, turning the ball over 4 times and having to score 2 fourth quarter touchdowns to pull away from the Golden Bears 28-7.

California was coached by former Coe College assistant coach and future Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy. "We wanted to win badly today. After all, a No 1 rating makes you a sitting duck for everybody and you know what it means to beat the No 1 team. But Iowa played a basic well-executed football game and was every bit as tough as we expected."

Luckily the Cal bus avoided disaster on the way to the game. The team bus on the way from Cedar Rapids to the stadium had to avoid the police escort car that had to stop quickly and almost ran into a deep ravine.

1 2 3 4 F

Iowa 7 7 0 14 28

California 0 7 0 0 7

SUMMARY

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HIGHLIGHTS

FULL GAME

PLAYER GAME QUOTES

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COACH GAME QUOTES

The coaches are right when they say it's a jungle down there on the bench.
-- Jerry Burns
Burns had been a spotter in the press box for Evy and had not been on the sidelines since coaching high school in 1953. This was his first game as head coach, where he was on the sidelines.

Not now, but I sure as hell was before the game. I died last Thursday!
-- Jerry Burns
Jerry Burns after being asked if he was nervous for his first game.

DETAILED TEAM STATS

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2025-2026 FB Record
9 - 4

2025-2026 MBB Record
24 - 13

2025-2026 WBB Record
27 - 7

2025-2026 W Record
12 - 6

2025-2026 WW Record
15 - 1

9/30/1961 (1961-1962)

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

Kinnick Stadium [Iowa City, Iowa]

#1 Iowa vs California #1 Iowa Hawkeyes Football vs California on 9/30/1961 - HawkeyeRecap.com