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football Edit

A trip down memory lane

Northwestern at Iowa

October 12, 1974

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Perspective changes a lot of things.

When I went to Iowa, Bob Commings was the coach and the team was below average. As a student I felt Commings was a poor coach.

In retrospect I was wrong. Don't get me wrong. I don't think Coach Commings was a great coach, but I do believe he was partially responsible for the resurrection of Iowa football. I forget sometimes how absolutely horrible Iowa football had become under Francis X. Lauterbur. Bob Commings brought the program from somewhere below Dante's Ninth Level of Hell to at least average respectability. That in itself was a gargantuan task.

Look at the first four teams Coach Commings had to face in his first season at Iowa: Bo Schembechler's Michigan, Dick Vermeil's UCLA, Joe Paterno's Penn State, and John McKay's USC.

That's an NCAA who's who and Coach Commings took a squad that was winless in 1973 and went 1-3 against those giants.

The 1973 team had finished last in the Big Ten in every defensive category except pass defense. And to be honest, the reason Iowa did not rank last in pass defense is because no one had to pass against the Hawks. After the first four games this 1974 bunch was SECOND in the league in total defense. Now that's a turnaround.

Unfortunately the Hawkeyes were tied for last in scoring with only a field goal scored in their previous two games.

Fortunately the opponent was John Pont and the Northwestern Wildcats. The Cats were the squad tied for last in scoring with Iowa.

However, the Big Ten Skywriters had picked Iowa for 10th and NU was tabbed for third, so a Homecoming win seemed doubtful. After all, the Hawks had only one Homecoming win in their previous nine tries.

It was a misty October afternoon and 51,200 Hawkeye fans settled into their seats to watch Iowa match up against the Wildcats. Among the crowd was a teacher from Chicago, former Hawkeye great Ozzie Simmons, who played for Ossie Solem in the 30's and was considered one of the most exciting backs ever to play at Iowa. Nicknamed the Ebony Eel, longtime observers rank Simmons with Willie Fleming, Ronnie Harmon, and Tavian Banks as Iowa's most electric backs.

Simmons was on hand this day to watch his nephew/godson play for the Hawks. Rod Wellington was a big, strong, and fast runner out of Chicago. Simmons would definitely enjoy his return to Iowa City.

After spotting NU an early 3-0 lead, Iowa drove to midfield. There, Wellington ran a bell pattern and Rob Fick found him for a short pass. Wellington then accelerated and raced through the stunned secondary for a 52-yard touchdown reception. Leading 7-3, Iowa didn't rest as Andre Jackson jarred the kick returner, separating him from the ball at the Wildcat 28-yard line.

Iowa then used its big backfield of Wellington, Jensen, and Fetter to pound Northwestern. Running behind future All-Americans Rod Walters and Joe Devlin, Fetter found five yards up the gut. Jensen then swept right for 17 yards. He lowered his shoulder and knocked out the Wildcat safety that tried to bring him down. Fetter took the ball the next play and burst into the end zone and Iowa led 14-3!

But Northwestern wasn't to be denied, as they drove 64 yards in eight plays to cut the lead to 14-10 right before half.

Early in the third quarter, Joe Heppner dropped a 42-yard punt out on the Wildcat six inch line. After a short run, Pont called for a rollout. Defensive end Lynn Heil broke through to hit quarterback Mitch Anderson. As he fell Bobby Elliott got his helmet on the ball jarring it free. Linebacker Dan LaFleur pounced on it for the score and a 21-10 lead.

After an exchange of punts, Iowa starts out fast with a 22-yard dash by Wellington to midfield. There, things start to stall and Iowa is faced with 4th and about five yards to go. Commings decided to go for it and they handed it to Wellington who plowed straight ahead for 10 yards. Wellington then ran a sweep left on the next pay and scooted 42 yards for the score, giving the Hawks a 28-10 lead.

Late in the game, Bobby Salter intercepted a pass and took it down to the Cat 10-yard line. The reserves were now in and Eddie Donovan ran a sweep right for nine yards. Then, Nate Winston did his best Sam "Bam" Cunningham impersonation and vaulted over the line for the last score of the day.

It was a happy Homecoming as Iowa rushed for over 300 yards on the day, Wellington needed only 12 carries to get 129 yards. Jim Jensen was the workhorse carrying 19 times for 107 yards, while fullback Fetter had 62 yards on 13 carries.

There were some well known names on the two deeps that day. Bruce Davis, LaFleur, and Dave Butler were all dads of future college players. Jon LaFleur and Calvin Davis for the Hawkeyes and David Butler for his dad's teammate Dan McCarney in Ames.

Jim Hilgenberg is the older brother of Jay and Joel. Bill Schultz is the son of former basketball coach, Dick, and of course Bobby Elliott is the son of Bump. Also, Doug Reichardt's dad Bill played for Iowa.

Dan McCarney is you know where, while Jim Caldwell went on to be the head coach at Wake Forest. Devlin, Walters, Jensen, and Douthitt all had NFL careers.

Iowa's two deeps:

OFFENSE

TE - Brandt Yocum 6-2, 226, Dave Jackson 6-4 194

LT - Rod Walters 6-4 240, Gary Ladick 6-2 251

LG - Joe Devlin 6-5 266, Dave Butler 6-3 249

C - Ed Myers 5-11 231, Jim Hilgenberg 6-2 201

RG - Dan McCarney 6-3 229, Bruce Davis 6-2 237

RT - Jock Michelosen 6-2 231, Mike Klimczak 6-3 243

SE - Bill Schultz 5-11 187, Franz (nothing in program)

QB - Rob Fick 6-2 191, Doug Reichardt 5-11 190

FB - Mark Fetter 6-0 202, Bob Holmes 6-1 225

LH - Jim Jensen 6-4 227, Ed Donovan 6-1 182

RH - Rod Wellington 6-1 214, Nate Winston 5-9 192

DEFENSE

SE - Lynn Heil 6-6 222, Mark Phillips 6-5 219

LT - Lester Washington 6-3 236, Steve Wojan 6-5 244

NG - Dave Bryant 6-0 219, Larry Bush 6-0 222

RT - Mike Lopos 5-9 227, Ty Dye 6-5 246

QE - Dave Wagner 6-2 209, Steve Wallker 6-2 217

LLB - Dan LaFleur 6-1 215, John Campbell 5-9 196

RLB - Andre Jackson 6-1 227, Dennis Armington 6-2 219

LC - Earl Douthitt 6-2 187, Bob Salter 6-1 165

SS - Bob Elliott 5-10 177, Roger Stech 6-1 182

FS - Jim Caldwell 5-11 182, Bob Elliott 5-10 177

RC - Shanty Burks 6-0 181, Walt Walker 6-0 189

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