1985 Team

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-21T13:43:43-0500

I grew up just after the storied teams of the 80s. Some would say the 1985 team was the best in Hawkeye history. My father was one of those people. Growing up, he would never miss a chance to bring up Chuck Long or his idol, Hayden Fry. I was old enough to see that Hayden Fry had lost his mojo in his latter part of his career and that's how I mostly remember Hayden Fry.

I wasn't around to watch Chuck Long, Larry Station, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Haight, Bill Happel and Rob Houghtlin (and his kick against Michigan). I'm sure I missed many others on that team. Along with the other great teams he had like in 1981.

I recently watched a Big Ten Channel production about that great Hawkeye team and it got me to thinking about a few things:

* Ronnie Harmon fumbled once all year, and then fumbled not twice, not thrice but 4 times in that Rose Bowl game. I've heard from my dad and others that they believe Harmon "threw the game". Any thoughts from others that were old enough to have an opinion during those days?

*Why didn't Hayden ever have another team like that one? Recruiting? Losing assistant coaches? Other teams caught up?

*Other than Brad Banks and Shonn Greene I don't believe we have had another legitimate Heisman contender since the great Chuck Long.

*Where do they rank amongst the other great teams, like the Ironmen of 1939, the Evashevski teams in the 50s, or the great Howard Jones teams in the 1920's, or even KF's teams?

Here is the link to the video I watched last night

The Big Z · 2026-10-21T14:35:30-0500

Hurricane88 said:
I grew up just after the storied teams of the 80s. Some would say the 1985 team was the best in Hawkeye history. My father was one of those people. Growing up, he would never miss a chance to bring up Chuck Long or his idol, Hayden Fry. I was old enough to see that Hayden Fry had lost his mojo in his latter part of his career and that's how I mostly remember Hayden Fry.

I wasn't around to watch Chuck Long, Larry Station, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Haight, Bill Happel and Rob Houghtlin (and his kick against Michigan). I'm sure I missed many others on that team. Along with the other great teams he had like in 1981.

I recently watched a Big Ten Channel production about that great Hawkeye team and it got me to thinking about a few things:

* Ronnie Harmon fumbled once all year, and then fumbled not twice, not thrice but 4 times in that Rose Bowl game. I've heard from my dad and others that they believe Harmon "threw the game". Any thoughts from others that were old enough to have an opinion during those days?

*Why didn't Hayden ever have another team like that one? Recruiting? Losing assistant coaches? Other teams caught up?

*Other than Brad Banks and Shonn Greene I don't believe we have had another legitimate Heisman contender since the great Chuck Long.

*Where do they rank amongst the other great teams, like the Ironmen of 1939, the Evashevski teams in the 50s, or the great Howard Jones teams in the 1920's, or even KF's teams?

Here is the link to the video I watched last night

There's a lot to talk about here! Not sure if Harmon was the greatest Iowa running back, but he was by far the most versatile. Basically a receiver his 1st 2 years and luckily they moved him to RB his Jr and Sr year. 190 carries for 900 yards and 32 receptions for 318 and his Sr year he really blew up, 209 for 1100 yards and 49 catches for 600 yards. Obviously was a great 3rd down back in the NFL for a lot of years. Long could put the ball anywhere, That 1985 year he threw for almost 3000 yards and 26 TD's, which in the Big Ten was pretty big numbers back in the day. Hayden always **** the bed in the Rose Bowl and that year was no exception. A very mediocre UCLA team managed to put up 45 points on us. And there's a long history on this board and discussion of the Harmon drops and fumbles. I think most on here believe he threw the game but he still caught 11 passes for 100 yards.

HawkAlum2002 · 2026-10-21T15:24:06-0500

Still stand by Harmon's fumbles not trying to throw the game. One botched hand off to begin the game, one legit fumble. one fumble when the ball came out after he was down (and shouldn't have counted), and one where they said he caught the ball and fumbled when he never had control of the catch to start with (also shouldn't have counted). Could the two legit fumbles have been part of a plan? I suppose. But two of the fumbles were just bad officiating before we had replays.

FanInBlack · 2026-10-21T15:33:45-0500

I think Ronnie Harmon is the most skilled football player I have ever seen at Iowa. Him or Dwight. He was ahead of his time as far as skills. A reciever and a runner ( as noted above). He could have been AA at either. I think he could have been an AA defensive back or Kick Returner.

The two seasons I remember the most are 1985 and 1990. Each started with a big recruiting class after a Rose Bowl game and each ended in Rose Bowl game.

As noted above, Longs play during that era of B1G is the equivalent of having 4500 yards and 45 TDs now.

Rambler Hawk · 2026-10-21T16:12:28-0500

Between the '85 Football Team and the '87 Basketball Team, that was the all-time pinnacle of Iowa men's sports... the likes of which we will never see again...

(Hope I am wrong.)

Gonzo_Bloor · 2026-10-21T17:21:26-0500

Larry Station is my favorite Iowa football player of all time and the best LB we've ever had.

NorthernHawkeye · 2026-10-21T17:29:49-0500

That rain soaked artificial turf glistening like a sheet of glass still haunts me to this day.

uihawk82 · 2026-10-21T18:01:00-0500

Hurricane88 said:
I grew up just after the storied teams of the 80s. Some would say the 1985 team was the best in Hawkeye history. My father was one of those people. Growing up, he would never miss a chance to bring up Chuck Long or his idol, Hayden Fry. I was old enough to see that Hayden Fry had lost his mojo in his latter part of his career and that's how I mostly remember Hayden Fry.

I wasn't around to watch Chuck Long, Larry Station, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Haight, Bill Happel and Rob Houghtlin (and his kick against Michigan). I'm sure I missed many others on that team. Along with the other great teams he had like in 1981.

I recently watched a Big Ten Channel production about that great Hawkeye team and it got me to thinking about a few things:

* Ronnie Harmon fumbled once all year, and then fumbled not twice, not thrice but 4 times in that Rose Bowl game. I've heard from my dad and others that they believe Harmon "threw the game". Any thoughts from others that were old enough to have an opinion during those days?

*Why didn't Hayden ever have another team like that one? Recruiting? Losing assistant coaches? Other teams caught up?

*Other than Brad Banks and Shonn Greene I don't believe we have had another legitimate Heisman contender since the great Chuck Long.

*Where do they rank amongst the other great teams, like the Ironmen of 1939, the Evashevski teams in the 50s, or the great Howard Jones teams in the 1920's, or even KF's teams?

Here is the link to the video I watched last night

Evy had one if not two teams better than Fry's best 1985 team. Evy's 1956 team had a one loss record at 9-1 and they destroyed some teams, beat some top Big Ten teams like OSU and MInny when Minny was still great, and clobbered Ore St in the Rose Bowl. Only loss on the road at Mich.

The 1958 team was also loaded had one loss at ohio st which is normal and tied an undefeated Air Force team that finished 9-0-2. And again the hawks clobbered Cal to win the rose bowl.

Evy's 1960 team is considered great at 8-1 with their only loss being at Minny which won the Natty Champ.

The 1985 hawks had that loss at OSU and the Rose Bowl loss which took the luster off that team. My two cents plus I watched some of that 1959 Rose Bowl

DukeSlater · 2026-10-21T18:18:50-0500

Hurricane88 said:
I grew up just after the storied teams of the 80s. Some would say the 1985 team was the best in Hawkeye history. My father was one of those people. Growing up, he would never miss a chance to bring up Chuck Long or his idol, Hayden Fry. I was old enough to see that Hayden Fry had lost his mojo in his latter part of his career and that's how I mostly remember Hayden Fry.

I wasn't around to watch Chuck Long, Larry Station, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Haight, Bill Happel and Rob Houghtlin (and his kick against Michigan). I'm sure I missed many others on that team. Along with the other great teams he had like in 1981.

I recently watched a Big Ten Channel production about that great Hawkeye team and it got me to thinking about a few things:

* Ronnie Harmon fumbled once all year, and then fumbled not twice, not thrice but 4 times in that Rose Bowl game. I've heard from my dad and others that they believe Harmon "threw the game". Any thoughts from others that were old enough to have an opinion during those days?

*Why didn't Hayden ever have another team like that one? Recruiting? Losing assistant coaches? Other teams caught up?

*Other than Brad Banks and Shonn Greene I don't believe we have had another legitimate Heisman contender since the great Chuck Long.

*Where do they rank amongst the other great teams, like the Ironmen of 1939, the Evashevski teams in the 50s, or the great Howard Jones teams in the 1920's, or even KF's teams?

Here is the link to the video I watched last night

Hayden had cancer his last couple years at Iowa. That, as you may understand, had a huge impact on his last years as head coach, and it directly led to his retirement after two decades of mostly exciting, successful football, an era that followed two decades in which Iowa never had a single winning season. Two decades. Not one winning season. That's what Fry inherited when he took over in 1979 and, only three years later, with no NIL and no portal, he took the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten title and their first Rose Bowl since 1959. Hayden went on to turn Iowa into a national brand by not only his coaching but by his promotional genius. In those days you could hardly even find a T-shirt that said IOWA on it. But Hayden changed all that. And, of course, the now internationally recognized Tiger Hawk logo was his idea. Hayden literally put Iowa back on the map where they had been under Evashevski in the 1950s.

The modern era of Iowa football success was built, on and off the field, by John Hayden Fry. Make no mistake about that.

As for the 1985 team, it was right up there with any ever produced at the University of Iowa. Evy's teams of the late 1950s were similar with great QB play and tremendous talent all over the field.

As for Ronnie Harmon and the 1985 Rose Bowl: There's no doubt in my mind that Harmon, one of the most gifted athletes ever to don a Hawkeye football uniform, threw the Rose Bowl. Not only did he fumble multiple times, he also dropped some passes, including one when he was wide open in the end zone. No player, let alone an All-American like Harmon, has ever played such a poor game on such a huge stage. Iowa outplayed UCLA that day, but it could not overcome the flurry of give-aways from Harmon. What a shame.

Grayhair1981 · 2026-10-21T19:06:53-0500

OSU seemed to know every play the Hawks were going to run in the 85 game. Also wasn't one of the better defenses that year either, outside of Station. Painfully close to running the table.

Grayhair1981 · 2026-10-21T19:14:17-0500

Barry Alvarez, Dan McCarney, Bill Snyder, and an O line coach named Ferentz all left between 86-89. Hayden was never able to replace all that talent.

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-21T19:39:38-0500

Grayhair1981 said:
OSU seemed to know every play the Hawks were going to run in the 85 game. Also wasn't one of the better defenses that year either, outside of Station. Painfully close to running the table.

There were some fishy things going on I think. That Ohio St game probably was the reason Long didn't win the Heisman that year. Such a great team with some weird things happening to them in their two losses.

NorthernHawkeye · 2026-10-21T19:50:48-0500

Sports Illustrated edition after the loss.

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-21T21:56:42-0500

The Big Z said:
There's a lot to talk about here! Not sure if Harmon was the greatest Iowa running back, but he was by far the most versatile. Basically a receiver his 1st 2 years and luckily they moved him to RB his Jr and Sr year. 190 carries for 900 yards and 32 receptions for 318 and his Sr year he really blew up, 209 for 1100 yards and 49 catches for 600 yards. Obviously was a great 3rd down back in the NFL for a lot of years. Long could put the ball anywhere, That 1985 year he threw for almost 3000 yards and 26 TD's, which in the Big Ten was pretty big numbers back in the day. Hayden always **** the bed in the Rose Bowl and that year was no exception. A very mediocre UCLA team managed to put up 45 points on us. And there's a long history on this board and discussion of the Harmon drops and fumbles. I think most on here believe he threw the game but he still caught 11 passes for 100 yards.

And besides the 4 fumbles he dropped a TD in the end zone, while he caught every other one not in the zone?

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-21T22:24:33-0500

Hurricane88 said:
I grew up just after the storied teams of the 80s. Some would say the 1985 team was the best in Hawkeye history. My father was one of those people. Growing up, he would never miss a chance to bring up Chuck Long or his idol, Hayden Fry. I was old enough to see that Hayden Fry had lost his mojo in his latter part of his career and that's how I mostly remember Hayden Fry.

I wasn't around to watch Chuck Long, Larry Station, Ronnie Harmon, Mike Haight, Bill Happel and Rob Houghtlin (and his kick against Michigan). I'm sure I missed many others on that team. Along with the other great teams he had like in 1981.

I recently watched a Big Ten Channel production about that great Hawkeye team and it got me to thinking about a few things:

* Ronnie Harmon fumbled once all year, and then fumbled not twice, not thrice but 4 times in that Rose Bowl game. I've heard from my dad and others that they believe Harmon "threw the game". Any thoughts from others that were old enough to have an opinion during those days?

*Why didn't Hayden ever have another team like that one? Recruiting? Losing assistant coaches? Other teams caught up?

*Other than Brad Banks and Shonn Greene I don't believe we have had another legitimate Heisman contender since the great Chuck Long.

*Where do they rank amongst the other great teams, like the Ironmen of 1939, the Evashevski teams in the 50s, or the great Howard Jones teams in the 1920's, or even KF's teams?

Here is the link to the video I watched last night

There was WAY more going on then the 4 fumbles and the dropped TD pass, that had many sure that Harmon threw that game. Just a refresher. Harmon was often seen riding around on an expensive scooter with high end clothing and jewelry. It later came out that Harmon was linked to sports agent Norby Walters through a contract agreement that violated NCAA rules. While Walters was on trial for racketeering, Harmon was called to testify. He admitted under oath that he taken cash from Walters AND signed a contract, and admitted that he had lied to The University of Iowa and the NCAA in order to maintain his eligibility. (Basically Ronnie was ineligible during the 1985 season). He was paid monthly amounts by Walters, his partner Lloyd Bloom and known mob figure Michael Francese a total adding up to 54,000. The two "agents" and their mob associate were signing top college players to secret illegal deals, and then threatening them for their silence. Walters and Bloom were charged with racketeering, extortion, and mail fraud. Walters was convicted of mail fraud and served some time. All of this came out when Harmon was in the pro's playing for Buffalo. As to your question about whether Harmon threw the game, use that to make your own decision. There's a heck of a lot of smoke coming from that fire, coupled with Harmons inexcusable poor play in that game.

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-21T22:27:32-0500

HawkAlum2002 said:
Still stand by Harmon's fumbles not trying to throw the game. One botched hand off to begin the game, one legit fumble. one fumble when the ball came out after he was down (and shouldn't have counted), and one where they said he caught the ball and fumbled when he never had control of the catch to start with (also shouldn't have counted). Could the two legit fumbles have been part of a plan? I suppose. But two of the fumbles were just bad officiating before we had replays.

Read my post #15 in this thread and consider that as well. ALL of that is public information in the trial that Harmon testified in against Walters and Bloom.

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-21T23:31:30-0500

Kceasthawk@77 said:
There was WAY more going on then the 4 fumbles and the dropped TD pass, that had many sure that Harmon threw that game. Just a refresher. Harmon was often seen riding around on an expensive scooter with high end clothing and jewelry. It later came out that Harmon was linked to sports agent Norby Walters through a contract agreement that violated NCAA rules. While Walters was on trial for racketeering, Harmon was called to testify. He admitted under oath that he taken cash from Walters AND signed a contract, and admitted that he had lied to The University of Iowa and the NCAA in order to maintain his eligibility. (Basically Ronnie was ineligible during the 1985 season). He was paid monthly amounts by Walters, his partner Lloyd Bloom and known mob figure Michael Francese a total adding up to 54,000. The two "agents" and their mob associate were signing top college players to secret illegal deals, and then threatening them for their silence. Walters and Bloom were charged with racketeering, extortion, and mail fraud. Walters was convicted of mail fraud and served some time. All of this came out when Harmon was in the pro's playing for Buffalo. As to your question about whether Harmon threw the game, use that to make your own decision. There's a heck of a lot of smoke coming from that fire, coupled with Harmons inexcusable poor play in that game.

This seems to check out. I have listened to Michael Francese talk about when they had a college sports betting business in the mob. He has bragged many times in interviews and podcasts.

I wish I was a filmmaker, I would definitely do a documentary on the 1985 team and how they were possibly robbed of a national title and maybe even a Heisman trophy. Ohio St seemingly knowing their plays is also very suspicious.

rchawk · 2026-10-21T23:39:37-0500

In college I befriended an old UI grad and World War I vet. He was there through through the Evy and Hayden years before dying in 1987. He recalled his student days and Howard Jones's teams with the Devine brothers, Duke Slater, Les Belding etc., said they were the best he had seen. Iowa went something like two years without losing a game. Beat Knute Rockne's ND team.

I will raise a toast to that old Marine and die-hard Hawkeye fan. Had an old but big scar near his left shoulder from a German bullet in 1918.

Grayhair1981 · 2026-10-22T04:15:39-0500

Kceasthawk@77 said:
There was WAY more going on then the 4 fumbles and the dropped TD pass, that had many sure that Harmon threw that game. Just a refresher. Harmon was often seen riding around on an expensive scooter with high end clothing and jewelry. It later came out that Harmon was linked to sports agent Norby Walters through a contract agreement that violated NCAA rules. While Walters was on trial for racketeering, Harmon was called to testify. He admitted under oath that he taken cash from Walters AND signed a contract, and admitted that he had lied to The University of Iowa and the NCAA in order to maintain his eligibility. (Basically Ronnie was ineligible during the 1985 season). He was paid monthly amounts by Walters, his partner Lloyd Bloom and known mob figure Michael Francese a total adding up to 54,000. The two "agents" and their mob associate were signing top college players to secret illegal deals, and then threatening them for their silence. Walters and Bloom were charged with racketeering, extortion, and mail fraud. Walters was convicted of mail fraud and served some time. All of this came out when Harmon was in the pro's playing for Buffalo. As to your question about whether Harmon threw the game, use that to make your own decision. There's a heck of a lot of smoke coming from that fire, coupled with Harmons inexcusable poor play in that game.

Harmon got shown the door at Buffalo after he alligator armed an easy TD pass.

Hawkangler · 2026-10-22T04:43:35-0500

I don't think Ronny or his brother have ever been back to Iowa. Sad in a way because they both had some great moments for the Hawks.

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-22T07:21:04-0500

Hurricane88 said:
This seems to check out. I have listened to Michael Francese talk about when they had a college sports betting business in the mob. He has bragged many times in interviews and podcasts.

I wish I was a filmmaker, I would definitely do a documentary on the 1985 team and how they were possibly robbed of a national title and maybe even a Heisman trophy. Ohio St seemingly knowing their plays is also very suspicious.

Why were they "robbed" of a title? Remember in your film. that like I said Harmon, (by his own admission in court) was ineligible to play NCAA football from his junior season ,and no doubt all of 1985. Not to play devils advocate further but why was Bo Jackson getting more votes than Long robbery? Unfortunately Long lost a LOT of the midwest votes to the amazing season that soph Lorenzo White had at MSU or he probably would have beaten Jackson in what was the closest Heisman vote up to that point.

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-22T07:25:50-0500

Hawkangler said:
I don't think Ronny or his brother have ever been back to Iowa. Sad in a way because they both had some great moments for the Hawks.

Yes they did......And no I don't think they have, and there's an obvious reason for Ronnies never being back.

BunchofAholes · 2026-10-22T07:41:40-0500

Hawkangler said:
I don't think Ronny or his brother have ever been back to Iowa. Sad in a way because they both had some great moments for the Hawks.

Kevin was a little more humble than Ronnie, but they both (especially Ronnie) had a bit of an attitude about the Midwest, being from New York.

7and5baby · 2026-10-22T09:37:22-0500

80's were great for many reasons, but ESPECIALLY for Hawk fans. Football and basketball were both good to great every year. Growing up, didn't realize how good we had it

The Big Z · 2026-10-22T10:04:19-0500

Grayhair1981 said:
Harmon got shown the door at Buffalo after he alligator armed an easy TD pass.

12 years on the NFL and almost 9000 total yards in rushing and receiving. Had a helluva NFL career.

Demger · 2026-10-22T11:23:06-0500

Grayhair1981 said:
Barry Alvarez, Dan McCarney, Bill Snyder, and an O line coach named Ferentz all left between 86-89. Hayden was never able to replace all that talent.

And our best recruiter, Bernie Wyatt.

Demger · 2026-10-22T12:02:44-0500

Kceasthawk@77 said:
Why were they "robbed" of a title? Remember in your film. that like I said Harmon, (by his own admission in court) was ineligible to play NCAA football from his junior season ,and no doubt all of 1985. Not to play devils advocate further but why was Bo Jackson getting more votes than Long robbery? Unfortunately Long lost a LOT of the midwest votes to the amazing season that soph Lorenzo White had at MSU or he probably would have beaten Jackson in what was the closest Heisman vote up to that point.

I think people feel Long was "robbed" because he played in a difficult match up against a great opponent in some bad weather conditions when Bo sat out his last game (possibly injured or not can't quite remember.) Not really robbed, but a negative result when Bo did nothing.

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-22T14:02:08-0500

Kceasthawk@77 said:
Why were they "robbed" of a title? Remember in your film. that like I said Harmon, (by his own admission in court) was ineligible to play NCAA football from his junior season ,and no doubt all of 1985. Not to play devils advocate further but why was Bo Jackson getting more votes than Long robbery? Unfortunately Long lost a LOT of the midwest votes to the amazing season that soph Lorenzo White had at MSU or he probably would have beaten Jackson in what was the closest Heisman vote up to that point.

I said maybe robbed a Heisman title. I never once said he was definitively robbed. Ronnie Harmon doesn't come back to Iowa because he knew what he did was wrong. You don't go to court and accept wrongdoing if you're innocent. Yes he was relieved of shaving points. Due to the fact they had no real evidence gathering for that at the time.

But, he accepted that he was paid to play. Highly illegal at the time. The fact he was not paid by a recruiter or booster from Iowa and instead a person affiliated with the mob makes this a highly peculiar situation.

I'm no filmmaker, but I'm going to start collecting facts and present it to a filmmaker. Lots of good ones have came from the University of Iowa as they have a great school for that and I'm sure having a connection with the university will have them intrigued with the story that most of them know nothing about because it happened before they were alive and even before some of their parents were old enough to have an opinion themselves.

It would honestly make a great 30 for 30 on ESPN.

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-22T14:03:20-0500

Major 1980s College Point-Shaving Scandals

This was going on at the same time as the 1985 team, but they couldn't convict against Harmon and company due to lack of intelligence gathering.

There was no internet or emails or text messages to pour over and sleuth through at the time. You simply had to have a wire tap to convict. Which means you needed a warrant to wire tap. How could you wire tap if you weren't finding evidence in other channels? The 1980's was the last decade before criminal science took a major leap forward. It was almost the dark ages in law enforcement.

Scandal & Year	Key Figures & Organizers	Summary of What Happened	Outcome & Aftermath
Boston College (1978–1979 season, exposed in 1980)	Henry Hill, Jimmy Burke, Paul Mazzei, Rocco and Anthony Perla; players Rick Kuhn and Jim Sweeney	Gamblers associated with the Lucchese crime family paid BC basketball players to keep nine games within specific point spreads.	Uncovered after Henry Hill's 1980 arrest; led to federal convictions (including Kuhn and Burke) and permanent NBA bans for implicated players.
Tulane University (1985)	Students Gary Kranz and Mark Olivari; players including John "Hot Rod" Williams	Tulane basketball players accepted money and/or cocaine to intentionally manipulate the point margins or outcomes of games.	Eight individuals were indicted, Tulane temporarily dropped its men's basketball program for four seasons, and star player John Williams was eventually acquitted after criminal trials.

Hurricane88 · 2026-10-22T14:10:54-0500

Again there is definitive proof that Ronnie took money from an individual outside of the Hawkeye program.

The Mob-Backed Agent Trial
The narrative shifted drastically in the late 1980s during a high-profile federal fraud and racketeering trial involving sports agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom. [1]

The Bribes: It was revealed in court that Walters and Bloom had been illegally paying college athletes cash to sign exclusive representation contracts before their NCAA eligibility expired. Harmon was a primary witness and admitted under oath that he had taken nearly $55,000 in cash from the agents while playing for Iowa. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The Mafia Funding: The trial exposed that Walters and Bloom’s agency was bankrolled by Michael Franzese, a notorious capo in the New York Colombo crime family. Franzese testified that his intent in funding the agency was to get college players indebted to the mob so they could eventually be pressured into fixing professional games once they reached the NFL. [1, 2]

Greg12 · 2026-10-22T14:31:24-0500

Kceasthawk@77 said:
Yes they did......And no I don't think they have, and there's an obvious reason for Ronnies never being back.

Does that time he was honorary captain not count?

ttps://hawkeyesports.com/news/2006/09/27/harmon-is-honorary-captain

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-22T14:38:39-0500

Hurricane88 said:
I said maybe robbed a Heisman title. I never once said he was definitively robbed. Ronnie Harmon doesn't come back to Iowa because he knew what he did was wrong. You don't go to court and accept wrongdoing if you're innocent. Yes he was relieved of shaving points. Due to the fact they had no real evidence gathering for that at the time.

But, he accepted that he was paid to play. Highly illegal at the time. The fact he was not paid by a recruiter or booster from Iowa and instead a person affiliated with the mob makes this a highly peculiar situation.

I'm no filmmaker, but I'm going to start collecting facts and present it to a filmmaker. Lots of good ones have came from the University of Iowa as they have a great school for that and I'm sure having a connection with the university will have them intrigued with the story that most of them know nothing about because it happened before they were alive and even before some of their parents were old enough to have an opinion themselves.

It would honestly make a great 30 for 30 on ESPN.

Okay, I'm just disagreeing with any "robbed" comment, maybe or otherwise. Good Lord. There are circumstances involving literally EVERY award. Who you played on the schedule. Weather, what games did you miss from injury, and on. and on, and on. Long did not get "robbed" of anything. Like I said he had the misfortune that another Midwest player, (Lorenzo White of MSU) took a bunch of votes, (50 first place votes) because he led the nation in rushing for almost 2000 yds as a soph.

As for the film. Good luck, but I'm not sure that would go anywhere. Everything we've talked about here has been public record for over 40 years. Not sure other than a few Iowa fans, (many who already know most of what happened) that that many people would really care about something that happened in 1985 to Iowa football. What would be the end game anyway. So as an Iowa fan, you'd like a film made that Iowa's star player was ineligible for the 1985 season, took bribes and MAY have been involved in point shaving or throwing the Rose Bowl????

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-22T14:41:36-0500

Demger said:
I think people feel Long was "robbed" because he played in a difficult match up against a great opponent in some bad weather conditions when Bo sat out his last game (possibly injured or not can't quite remember.) Not really robbed, but a negative result when Bo did nothing.

You could go back through every award ever given and come up with reasons why, (weather, schedule, games missed, etc... etc...) why one person or another didn't win. That's a fools errand, and Long wasn't "robbed" of anything.

Kceasthawk@77 · 2026-10-22T14:49:50-0500

Greg12 said:
Does that time he was honorary captain not count?

ttps://hawkeyesports.com/news/2006/09/27/harmon-is-honorary-captain

Well it certainly should. I guess I, (we) missed that. Do have to think it's kinda weird that Iowa, (Kirk, whomever) would have had him back considering he admitted in court that he was ineligible to even play NCAA football at Iowa for part of 1984 and all of 1985, not even getting into the whole Rose Bowl mess.

52317Hawk · 2026-10-22T15:58:43-0500

Greg12 said:
Does that time he was honorary captain not count?

ttps://hawkeyesports.com/news/2006/09/27/harmon-is-honorary-captain

I also think he was an assistant coach at West High School probably 15-20 years ago.

1985 Team

Sophomore

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference

Sophomore

All-Conference

All-American

All-American

All-American

Sophomore

Heisman

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

All-American

All-Conference

Freshman

All-Conference

Senior

Senior

Sophomore

Sophomore

Sophomore

All-Conference

All-American

All-American

All-American

All-Conference