No. 9 Iowa 35, Indiana 27

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., - C.J. Beathard went one way. The ball went up in the air. Maybe his hip went another way. Maybe his groin. Basically, there were pieces of Beathard and the football flying all over the place late in the second quarter.

It was second-and-goal from Indiana's 7-yard line with 17 seconds left before halftime. The Hoosiers had just surged ahead, sending Iowa to its first deficit in almost a month.

You know all about Beathard and his hip/groin injury. It's perhaps the biggest variable/obstacle the No. 9 Hawkeyes face the rest of the season. Beathard gave coaches the thumbs up before Saturday's game. He meant it, too, because he knows if he bluffs his way to the field, he won't be able to stand and deliver.

Beathard is all about the standing and the delivering.

'When I scored on that touchdown, coach Davis (offensive coordinator Greg Davis) called a quarterback draw,” Beathard said. 'I was surprised he called it. I told him I felt good. I was happy he called it. That shows he has trust in me.

'That shows I have to be honest with him. If he would've called it and I wouldn't have been able to do it, it wouldn't have been good for our offense and our team.”

Beathard spiked the drama out of that set up. He scored on this 7-yarder, flying over the goal line, breaking the plane just before an Indiana defender sent the ball into the air and landing on his back.

Beathard's arm did the talking - OK, you know what that means - in the second half and the Hawkeyes defense strung together some key second-half stops, including cornerback Desmond King's record-tying eighth interception this season, in their 35-27 victory before 44,739 fans at Memorial Stadium.

The Hawkeyes are 9-0 for the first time since 2009, which ties for the best start in school history. Iowa is 5-0 in the Big Ten for the third time under head coach Kirk Ferentz (their magic number for the Big Ten West Division title is now two). Iowa also has now won five consecutive true road games for the first time since the 2008-09 seasons.

The big question now is does Beathard open beer bottles with his teeth? Seriously. He's crossed off just about every other feat of toughness.

'I'm sure if he wanted to he could, but he's not that kind of guy,” said wide receiver Jacob Hillyer, who caught four passes for 53 yards. 'He's not one of those guys, but he is a tough guy. That's just who he is.”

Let's ask center Austin Blythe the 'Beathard beer bottle teeth” question.

'Probably,” he said. 'It comes out when he plays football. That's the kind of person, athlete he is. He just goes out there and plays. He wants to win, he wants to win for us, mainly. That's huge.”

Beathard, who's the first Iowa starting QB to begin his career 10-0, finished 19 of 31 for 233 yards and a TD pass, an 11-yarder to tight end George Kittle that gave Iowa a 35-20 lead with 6:03 left in the game. The play was a naked bootleg, something Ferentz said after last week's victory over Maryland that probably wouldn't be seen again this year because of Beathard's health.

There it was, and there it was again for an 11-yard gain deep in the fourth, allowing Iowa to drain the final 2:24 off the clock after the Hoosiers (4-5, 0-5) pulled within 35-27.

'I guess we all can quit asking what percentage he is (health-wise),” Ferentz said. 'I have no idea and he certainly doesn't, either. It's a good enough percent to look like a football player out there. He's a football player.”

With 9:13 left, Iowa had a 28-20 lead and the ball at its 40. The drive started incomplete, incomplete and suddenly it was third-and-10 and Iowa needed super clutch. Beathard found tight end Henry Krieger Coble for a 10-yard gain. Two plays later, it was second-and-9 from IU's 35. Beathard zipped a seam pass to wide receiver Matt VandeBerg for 24 yards.

'Some of those throws he made today, some of those third-down conversions,” Ferentz said, 'those were super-clutch plays.”

With running back Akrum Wadley's 65-yard TD run and LeShun Daniels' 1-yard TD, the Hawkeyes built a 14-3 lead and seemed set for takeoff. Iowa had a drive die because of a pair of holding penalties and that opened the door for the Hoosiers to counter punch.

Running back Jordan Howard hit on TD runs of 37 and 29 yards - the Hawkeyes came into the game with one rush TD allowed all season - and the Hoosiers forged ahead.

Howard finished with 174 yards and IU tagged Iowa for 407 yards total offense, the most the Hawkeyes have allowed this season, but defensive coordinator Phil Parker moved defensive ends around and clamped down on IU's inside rushing game. After consecutive TD drives, the Hoosiers' next five drives went punt, punt, field goal, punt and King's interception.

'They had some different reads in there and then there were some reads that we have to be a little more keen on and pay more attention to,” said middle linebacker Josey Jewell, who led Iowa with 15 tackles. 'Everyone is playing well. There are some small detail things, but that's every game.”

The chicken sandwiches were on the table. The bus was loading up for the charter. Here the middle linebacker was, after a 15-tackle game, grinding on the things he missed.

That, as much as anything, is why your Iowa Hawkeyes are 9-0.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com