Play of the Game: Beathard to McCarron

DOWN, DISTANCE:

First and 10 from the Iowa State 25

SCORE/TIME

: Game tied 17-17, 2:23 left in the game

FORMATION, PERSONNEL

: Iowa — 2 TEs, 1 WR, FB, RB; Iowa State — Base defensive personnel

WHAT HAPPENED

: Iowa wide receiver Riley McCarron hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback C.J. Beathard in the corner of the end zone to give the Hawkeyes a 24-17 lead.

WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT:

McCarron's catch gave Iowa the lead late in the fourth quarter and ultimately the victory to reclaim the Cy-Hawk Trophy.

THE QUOTE 1:

'Coach (Greg) Davis made a great call. We'd been running the ball a lot out of that formation and linebackers and the line bit on it. Riley made a good route, it was a double move, the corner bit on it, and made a big catch in the end zone. He's actually my roommate. A great guy. A trustworthy guy. He's accountable. You know where he's going to be. What better way to score your first touchdown than in a game like that? At the point in the game it was, too' — Beathard

THE QUOTE 2:

'Coaches called the play, I ran the route I'm supposed to run, great job by the offensive line. C.J. with the outstanding throw. Can't ask for anything better than that.' — McCarron

THE QUOTE 3:

'He's a guy that works harder than anybody else on the team. I would stand by that. He's one of the hardest workers. For him to come out, he wished he could have had that earlier pass (which was dropped), but we had trust in him and it paid off when he was able to score that touchdown. ' — Iowa wide receiver Matt VandeBerg

T

HE ANALYSIS: Iowa lined up in an I-formation with McCarron off the ball to Beathard's left. Iowa faked a stretch play to the right to running back Jordan Canzeri, and Beathard rolled to the left. Eight Iowa State defenders charged toward the line of scrimmage reading run. Both tight ends ran drag routes from left to right. Beathard threw across his body, just past ISU cornerback Jomal Wiltz and into McCarron's arms for the touchdown,

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