10/7/1961 (1961-1962)

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [Los Angeles, California]

#1 Iowa @ USC #1 Iowa Hawkeyes Football @ USC on 10/7/1961 - HawkeyeRecap.com

W 35 - 34

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Head Coach: Jerry Burns
Attendance: 30,263
Start Time: 3:30 PM CST

RECAP

Top-ranked Iowa nearly was upset on the road. They had to stop a late 2-point conversion to pull out a victory. Al Hinton applied the rush to USC quarterback Bill Nelson, who rushed the throw and ended up quickly on his back. Sammie Harris was in the right position and was able to break up the pass, winning the game for Iowa. USC coach John McKay said this after the game. "We didn't go out there to play a tie game, we went out to win."

The heavily favored Hawkeyes got out to a 21-0 lead before USC scored 2 touchdowns to cut the lead before half. The trojans followed up with another touchdown, but had the extra point blocked that would have tied the game at the time. The blocked kick would prove to be a big point in the ball game.

Pete Beathard, future Iowa quarterback CJ Beathard's great uncle, scored a rushing touchdown and played quarterback for the Trojans.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had just finished there last home game at the Coliseum a week prior against the Chicago Cubs. The infield had new sod brought in on Monday of game week.

1 2 3 4 F

Iowa 6 15 7 7 35

USC 0 14 6 14 34

SUMMARY

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PLAYER GAME QUOTES

The way I played Saturday I don't deserve to be quoted.
-- Bernie Wyatt

I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time, I guess. Southern Cal's receiver hooked toward the outside. I saw their quarterback look at him, and I knew he was going to pass to him. I moved over and just got a hand on the ball in time.
-- Sammie Harris
Sammie Harris talking about knocking down a pass on a two point conversion against USC that won kept the Trojans from beating the Hawks.

COACH GAME QUOTES

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DETAILED TEAM STATS

Statistics	Iowa	USC
Rushing 1st Downs	6	12
Passing 1st Downs	6	4
Penalty 1st Downs	0	1
Total First Downs	12	17
Rushing Attempts	44	51
Rushing Yards	229	220
Rushing TDs	2	2
Yards per Rush	5.2	4.3
Passes Completed	7	5
Passes Attempts	13	17
Pass Completion %	53.8%	29.4%
Passing TDs	3	3
Passing Yards	154	156
Passing Yards per Completion	22.0	31.2
Passing Yards per Attempt	11.8	9.2
Touchdowns	5	5
Total Plays	57	68
% of Rushing Plays	77.2%	75%
% of Passing Plays	22.8%	25%
Total Offense	383	376
Yards per Play	6.7	5.5
Lost Fumbles	1	2
Interceptions	3	1
Turnovers	4	3
Penalties	7	6
Penalty Yards	55	37
Yards per Penalty	7.9	6.2
Possession Time

2025-2026 FB Record
6 - 2
(4 games remaining)

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

2025-2026 WBB Record
1 - 0
(28 games remaining)

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

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

10/7/1961 (1961-1962)

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [Los Angeles, California]

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum [Los Angeles, California]

#1 Iowa @ USC #1 Iowa Hawkeyes Football @ USC on 10/7/1961 - HawkeyeRecap.com