1956 Iowa Hawkeyes football team
| 1956 Iowa Hawkeyes football | |
|---|---|
National champion (CFRA) Big Ten champion Rose Bowl champion | |
Rose Bowl, W 35–19 vs. Oregon State | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| Record | 9–1 (5–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Ken Ploen |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Iowa Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Iowa $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Michigan | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Minnesota | 4 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Michigan State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Ohio State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 1 | – | 4 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 1 | – | 4 | – | 2 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 4 | – | 3 | 1 | – | 5 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1956 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1956 Big Ten football season. In their fifth season under head coach Forest Evashevski, the Hawkeyes compiled a 9–1 record (5–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 184 to 65. They shut out No. 6 Minnesota (7–0) and No. 6 Ohio State (6–0), won in a blowout over Notre Dame (48–8 with a school record 409 rushing yards), but lost to No. 17 Michigan. As Big Ten champion, the Hawkeyes played in the 1957 Rose Bowl, defeating Oregon State (35–19) in a rematch of a regular season game.
The Hawkeyes were ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls, both issued prior to the Rose Bowl. They were later selected as the national champion by the College Football Researchers Association.
The 1956 Hawkeyes gained 2,374 rushing yards and 582 passing yards. On defense, they gave up 1,451 rushing yards and 913 passing yards. The defense gave up 8.4 points per game, the best scoring defense by an Iowa team in the modern era (since 1940). They allowed 229.8 yards per game, the second lowest total defense mark in school history.
Quarterback Ken Ploen led the team in rushing (487 yards), passing (386 yards), total offense (873 yards), and scoring (38 points on six touchdowns and two extra-point kicks. Jim Gibbons led in receiving (255 yards). Ploen received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten. Tackle Alex Karras was selected as a first-team All-American.
The team played its home games at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Home attendance was 306,478, an average of 51,079 per game.