College Football Old School Game of the Week: Houghtlin's Walk-off FG Gives #1 Iowa Win over #2 Michigan

Rob Houghtlin kicks what would be the game-winning field goal in #1 Iowa's win over #2 Michigan.

October 19, 1985 is a date etched in the history of Iowa Hawkeyes football as on that day the #1 Hawkeyes hosted the #2 Michigan Wolverines in what is arguably the greatest game in Iowa football history.

The Hawkeyes were led by head coach Hayden Fry, who was in his seventh season as the Iowa head coach having turned the Hawkeyes from one of the worst teams in the Big 10 conference to one of the best after leading Iowa to the 1981 Big 10 championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl after 19 straight losing seasons.

That began an Iowa football renaissance as the Hawkeyes would have four straight winning seasons and play in four straight bowl games from 1981-84.

But the expectations in 1985 were sky-high as the Hawkeyes had a Heisman Trophy candidate in fifth-year senior quarterback Chuck Long, who directed an Iowa offense that scored 153 points in its first three games of the '85 season which propelled to Iowa to the #1 ranking for the first time in 25 years.

The Hawkeyes would pull off a 35-31 win over Michigan State then defeated Wisconsin 23-13 to stay at #1 as Iowa prepared to host #2 Michigan.

Unlike Iowa, Michigan's expectations for the 1985 season were rather low following a 6-6 season in 1984 which was the worst season since Bo Schembechler became the head coach back in 1969.

However, the Wolverines would rebound to start the '85 season with a 5-0 record thanks to a dynamic defense which had allowed only 21 points over the course of the first five games of the season.

With their dominant defense and solid offense led by quarterback Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines went from unranked to #2 as they traveled to Iowa City to take on the #1 Iowa Hawkeyes in a game that could be best described as the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object.

 The Hawkeyes got the ball at their 20-yard-line to start the game as Long handed the ball off to running back Ronnie Harmon five straight times for a total of 21 yards before throwing his first pass of the game which was an eight-yard pass to Bill Happel to give Iowa a 1st down at its 49-yard-line.

However, the Hawkeyes would not pick up another yard as they were forced to punt the ball away to the Wolverines who would take over at their 27-yard-line to begin their first possession.

Just like what Iowa did on its first possession, the Wolverines would drive to their 49-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Hawkeyes who took over at their 18-yard-line as they would pick up one 1st down before they punted the ball back to Michigan, only to have the Wolverines rough punter Gary Kostrubala to draw a 15-yard penalty and give Iowa a 1st down at its 47-yard-line.

The Hawkeyes would come up one yard short of picking up another 1st down forcing them to punt back to Michigan who took over at its 10-yard-line as their next possession started with a four-yard run by Gerald White followed by two straight runs by Jamie Morris that picked up 22 yards.

Two more runs would pick up seven yards to set up 3rd & 3 when Harbaugh was sacked by Iowa nose guard Hap Peterson to end the first quarter with the game still scoreless.

Following another Michigan punt, the Hawkeyes got the ball at their 24-yard-line where they began their best drive of the game thus far as Long completed four of his next five passes for 55 yards, with three of those completions going to Scott Helverson for 38 yards, to lead Iowa to the Michigan 16-yard-line where they had a 1st & 10.

A two-yard run by Harmon on 1st down followed by Harmon losing four yards on a screen pass set up 3rd & 12 when the most controversial play of the game happened as Long rolled to his right and fired a pass toward the back of the end zone that was caught by Helverson, only to have officials rule that his feet were out of bounds making the pass incomplete.

However, replays showed that Helverson was inbounds when he made the catch but since there was no instant replay in college football in 1985 the play stood and the Hawkeyes were forced to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Rob Houghtlin to give Iowa a 3-0 lead with just over nine minutes left in the second quarter.

Iowa quarterback Chuck Long completed 26 of 39 passes for 297 yards.

The Wolverines would get the ball in Iowa territory to start their next drive as Morris returned the ensuing kickoff 60 yards to the Hawkeyes' 31-yard-line where running back Thomas Wilcher came in and ran the ball two straight times to pick up 11 yards and a 1st down at the Iowa 20-yard-line.

An eight-yard pass from Harbaugh to Paul Joksich plus a face mask penalty on Station gave Michigan a 1st & goal at the six-yard-line.

Two runs by Morris that netted zero yards set up 3rd & goal when Harbaugh tossed a shovel pass to White who was able to run it to the goal line where he stretched out the ball to cross the plank for the six-yard touchdown that with the extra point gave Michigan a 7-3 lead with 6:06 left in the second quarter.

Iowa would get the ball at its 20-yard-line to start its next drive which began with a 31-yard pass from Long to Harmon to put the Hawkeyes at the Michigan 49-yard-line, only to have the Michigan defense force Iowa to punt after Long completed only one of his next three passes for four yards.

The Hawkeyes would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at the Michigan 45-yard-line with 3:17 left before halftime in hopes of getting some points before the end of the half.

The drive began with a 25-yard pass from Long to Harmon to give Iowa a 1st down at the Michigan 20-yard-line, which was followed by a four-yard run by Harmon and a nine-yard pass to Helverson to set up 1st & goal at the Wolverines' seven-yard-line.

That is when the Hawkeyes started to go backwards as Harmon lost three yards on 1st down, then lost five more on 2nd down, before gaining five yards on a 3rd down pass to force 4th & goal as Houghtlin came in to kick a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half with the Wolverines leading 7-6.

It would not be the last time Houghtlin would make a field goal as time expired in this game.

The Wolverines would get the ball to start the second half as they drove from their 30-yard-line to the Iowa 45-yard-line before punting the ball away to the Hawkeyes, who took over at their 20-yard-line following a touchback on the punt.

Long would complete a 18-yard pass to Bill Happel to start the drive which was followed by an one-yard run by Harmon then a quarterback sack to force 3rd & 19 when Long connected with Happel again, this time for 19 yards to pick up the 1st down at the Iowa 48-yard-line.

The Hawkeyes would eventually drive to the Wolverines' 24-yard-line until Long was intercepted by Michigan linebacker Dieter Heren on a pass intended for tight end Mike Flagg to end the Iowa drive and give Michigan the ball at its 11-yard-line.

The Wolverines would drive to their 35-yard-line before punting the ball back to the Hawkeyes who took over at their 24-yard-line where it took Iowa only two plays to drive into Michigan territory as Long completed a 14-yard pass to Happel which was followed by a 14-yard run by Harmon to give the Hawkeyes a 1st down at the Michigan 48-yard-line.

The Hawkeyes would drive to the Michigan 18-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end with Iowa still trailing 7-6 but facing 3rd & 3 when Long fumbled the snap only to recover it to give Houghtlin a chance to kick a 36-yard field goal.

Houghtlin's kick would sail through the uprights to give Iowa a 9-7 lead just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter as Michigan would get the ball at its 37-yard-line to start its next possession.

Iowa running back Ronnie Harmon ran the ball 32 times for 120 yards.

Harbaugh would complete a five-yard pass to tight end Eric Kattus on the first play of the drive which was followed by a 17-yard run by Bob Perryman for a Michigan 1st down at the Iowa 41-yard-line.

Morris would then run for 24 yards on the next play to put Michigan at the Hawkeyes' 17-yard-line when the Wolverines went backwards as an illegal procedure penalty and a five-yard loss on a screen pass to Morris set up 2nd & 20.

The Wolverines would only pick up four more yards forcing them to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Mike Gillette to give Michigan a 10-9 lead with 10:55 remaining in the game.

The Hawkeyes would starts its next possession at their 20-yard-line where two runs by Harmon for 13 yards and passes of 16 yards from Long to Robert Smith and 13 yards to Helverson put Iowa at the Michigan 38-yard-line.

The Hawkeyes would drive to the Michigan 23-yard-line until a quarterback sack by Wolverines strong safety Ivan Hicks stall the drive and forced the Hawkeyes to attempt a 44-yard field goal by Houghtlin, which fell short of the goal posts and was no good to keep Michigan ahead 10-9 midway through the fourth quarter.

Michigan would take over at its 27-yard-line and pick up eight yards on two running plays to set up 3rd & 2 when linebacker Larry Station made his presence felt as he dropped Morris for a two-yard-loss to force the Wolverines to punt the ball away to the Hawkeyes who took over at their 22-yard-line with 5:27 left in the game and needing just a field goal to win.

The drive got off to an auspicious start as Long threw two straight incomplete passes to force 3rd & 10 when Long found Flagg for a 12-yard completion to give Iowa a 1st down at its 34-yard-line.

After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Long handed the ball off to Harmon, who ran for 12 yards to pick up another 1st down at the Iowa 46-yard-line.

Two straight runs by Harmon netted three yards to force 3rd & 7 when Long connected with Flagg again, this time for 11 yards to give Iowa a 1st down at the Michigan 40-yard-line.

Harmon would then ran for 13 yards on the following play for another Iowa 1st down as the Hawkeyes were now at the Michigan 27-yard-line.

A one-yard loss on a Harmon run and a six-yard pass from Long to fullback Fred Bush lead to a 3rd & 5 from the Michigan 22-yard-line when Long handed the ball off to David Hudson, who ran up the middle for six yards and another Iowa 1st down at the Michigan 16-yard-line.

One more run by Harmon picked up four yards before Fry called timeout with two seconds left as Houghtlin came onto the field to attempt a 29-yard field goal to win the game.

Despite having dominated the game statistically as the Hawkeyes outgained the Wolverines 422-182 and holding the ball for nearly 38 minutes, it would all come down to Houghtlin to make a fourth field goal of the game to give Iowa the win.

 Schembechler called timeout in hopes of icing Houghtlin who spent the timeout praying as he prepare to make his kick.

With a perfect snap and a perfect hold from Mark Vlasic, Houghtlin's kick sailed through the uprights as time expired to give Iowa a 12-10 victory and send the crows at Kinnick Stadium into a frenzy as many of the fans came out on to the field in celebration.

In a postgame interview, Fry jokingly said that he was going to vote his team #1 after the victory.

The Hawkeyes would remain #1 for two weeks until they were upset by the Ohio State Buckyes 22-13, ending their five-week run as the top team in the country as they fell to #6 after the loss in Columbus.

The Hawkeyes would recover to win their final three games of the regular season as they would finish the regular season with a 10-1 record that with an Ohio State loss to Wisconsin help earn Iowa its second trip to the Rose Bowl in five years.

However, in the Rose Bowl the Hawkeyes would fall to the UCLA Bruins 45-28 as UCLA running back Eric Ball ran for 227 yards and scored four touchdowns while Harmon had the worst game of his collegiate career as he fumbled the football four times and dropped a certain touchdown pass in the game as Iowa finished with a 10-2 record and #9 ranking in the final coaches poll and #10 in the final AP poll.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines would finish the season with a 10-1-1 record as they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 27-23 in the Fiesta Bowl which allowed them to earn the #2 ranking in the AP and coaches polls at the end of the season.

As for Houghtlin, the game-winning kick against Michigan would not be the final time he made a game-winning field goal at the buzzer as he would make a 37-yard field goal to give Iowa a 30-27 win over Minnesota in 1986 which was followed by a 41-yard field goal at the end of the 1986 Holiday Bowl to give the Hawkeyes a 39-38 win over San Diego State.