Iowa 45, Indiana 29: It was an offensive inferno

IOWA CITY — Kirk Ferentz brought former Iowa quarterback and current Calgary Stampeder Drew Tate as the honorary captain for Saturday.

It synced up well with the quarterback thunderstorm that rolled through Iowa City this week. Junior Jake Rudock suffered a hip injury at Pitt on Sept. 20. Sophomore C.J. Beathard came in and led Iowa to two victories thereafter. Who better to bring into the football complex this week than Tate, a fiery competitor who went through tons of highs and lows during his three seasons as a starter.

He'll talk these guys through this, right? What was that conversation like?

'What's up, Drew?' Rudock said. 'It was short and sweet. He's a cool guy.'

OK, so maybe it wasn't a pep talk. Whatever message was sent by head coach Kirk Ferentz saying he would play two QBs was received.

Rudock completed 19 of 27 for 210 yards and two TDs. Beathard steered the bus nicely for a few series, but let's go back to Rudock.

Iowa needed a fast start and big plays. Rudock provided both in Iowa's 45-29 victory over Indiana at Kinnick Stadium before 68,590 fans on Saturday. By the end of the first quarter, Rudock had two TD passes, including a 72-yarder to wide receiver Damond Powell, and a pass efficiency of 239.56.

By the end of the first quarter, freshman running back Jonathan Parker had a 60-yard TD run on a jet sweep. Iowa had a 28-7 lead and its most first-quarter points since 28 against Ball State in 2005. Iowa also had a defensive touchdown from sophomore cornerback Desmond King.

Most of all, given the storm and stress over QB all week, Iowa (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) had exceptional quarterback play. Rudock celebrated touchdowns and kept it fairly light in his postgame. He didn't wag his finger at critics, but he did address the topic.

'You don't really listen to the noise, but sometimes you're going to hear stuff,' Rudock said. 'You just have to flush it out real quick because everybody is an expert until they put a helmet on. That's kind of just the way it is.'

Rudock was asked if he answered critics. All the world is a critic, including the questioners.

'You guys are the critics, aren't you? Or are your readers?' Rudock said with a laugh. 'I don't know. Ask them. I'm just trying to play the best that I can. If I did, great. If not, it doesn't really matter.'

Why, yes, of course, Beathard wanted to play more. But he has eyes. He saw what Rudock was doing and, yeah, why change?

'The offense started fast. You couldn't really complain about it, you're doing great,' said Beathard, who finished 2 of 5 for 9 yards and rushed four times for 28 yards. 'I'd like to play more and do things, but you can't complain about it. I have a role on this team and I know my role. We're winning games, that's all that matters.'

Iowa had a streak of touchdowns come on three consecutive plays — a 12-yard Rudock-to-Jake Duzey TD pass, 72-yarder to Powell and Parker's 60-yard sweep. Indiana (3-3, 0-2) had running back Tevin Coleman.

Iowa had some answers at QB, but Coleman had the numbers day, rushing 15 times for 219 yards with TD runs of 83, 45 and 69.

Even though the defense provided two turnovers that turned into TDs, Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker is going to be [blank] during this morning's video review?

'I should probably leave it blank,' senior safety John Lowdermilk said. 'Very critical. Very critical.'

Two factors that pushed this game Iowa's way: With three seconds left before halftime, Ferentz decided to go for it at fourth-and-goal from the 1. Running back Mark Weisman scored and went into the locker room with a 38-21 lead.

'Someone ran into my back, I assume it was Mark,' said junior Austin Blythe, who moved from center to right guard after junior Jordan Walsh injured an ankle in the first quarter. Senior Tommy Gaul finished the game at center. By the way, the Hawkeyes rushed for 207 yards on 44 carries, the best rushing performance of the season by far.

Indiana's fortunes changed drastically when junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld left the game with a shoulder injury after being sacked by Carl Davis and Drew Ott. Sudfeld's arm kept Iowa honest. Freshman Chris Covington, his replacement, is an read-option QB. Iowa was able to sit on the run. Covington had three completions, two interceptions and threw for just 31 yards.

If you think this was the type of game that set up to be Ferentz's inferno, you're right. The RPMs revved a little too high, but he's not throwing it back.

'We're the birthplace of arena football, probably appropriate today,' Ferentz said, referring to Iowa's arena teams. 'I'm not fond of scoring contests, that's for sure, but, boy, it looked like it had a chance to be one.'

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