Iowa 24, Pitt 20: Beathard, defense spark an Iowa 180

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The last time Iowa stopped in at Heinz Field, coach Kirk Ferentz used the term 'gut thing” to describe quarterback substitutions.

This time, the word was a 'strain.” Not so much the quarterback play, but strain is what shaped everything Hawkeyes in their 24-20 victory over Pitt before 48,895 fans Saturday.

From a lower-body injury to starting QB Jake Rudock to wide receiver Damond Powell reaching to catch a one-handed 62-yarder from backup QB C.J. Beathard to a defense that paraded 21 players into the lineup, it was a strain.

'Strain” is the word.

Iowa ran just five plays in the second quarter and fell behind 17-7 at halftime. During one of those five plays, Rudock was sandwiched by a pair of Pitt defenders and suffered a lower-body injury (maybe a hip).

'I don't think it's anything devastating, but we'll probably know more tomorrow,” said Ferentz, who's hair was uncharacteristically disheveled at the postgame podium (celebrating this one?). 'It's more of a strain, that's all I know at this point.”

And that's where quarterback stands with the Hawkeyes (3-1) traveling to Purdue (2-2) next weekend for their Big Ten opener. It's in a state of strain. Ferentz wouldn't go one way or the other with Rudock's health up in the air.

'We have two good quarterbacks,” Ferentz said. 'I wish we had that kind of depth everywhere.”

The second quarter was as punked as the Hawkeyes have been in a long, long time. Behind running back James Conner, Pitt (3-1) held the ball for 12:16 and took a 17-7 lead on Chris Blewitt's 33-yard field goal two seconds before halftime. Conner had 100 rushing yards at halftime. Quarterback Chad Voytik competed 12 of 14 for 130 yards. In two of Pitt's first three games, he failed to pass for 100 yards total. The Hawkeyes ran just five plays for 21 yards. That was it.

Pittsburgh was the pirates and the Hawkeyes were the pillaged.

'We just got hammered in that first half, that's the only way I can put it,” Ferentz said. 'That was a battering. . . . It's a bad thing when you're the receiver of a team running the ball down your throats.”

Down 17-7, Iowa's defense squeezed a punt out of Pitt on the first possession of the third quarter, signaling a resurgence there. Conner finished with 155 yards, so Iowa's defense stemmed the nation's No. 4 rusher. It also came back and got Voytik, with safety Anthony Gair sealing this one with an interception as time ran out.

With the defense setting the table there in the third quarter, Beathard jogged onto the field and four plays later, it was 'The Natural,” with scoreboards exploding and everything.

OK, not quite. But an Iowa offense that was caged found life in the 62-yard bomb from Beathard to Powell, whose one-hander is headed to SportsCenter's top 10 plays of the day and whose bobble that led to a first quarter is headed to SportsCenter Not Top 10.

'Hopefully, I make just the top 10 and not the not top 10,” Powell said with a laugh.

The play move the Hawkeyes to Pitt's 18. Three plays later, running back Mark Weisman burst up the middle for a 10-yard TD and Iowa, which wore Conner cleat marks on its back in the first half, had life.

Beathard gave this offense a spark.

'I wouldn't say that,” said Beathard, whose day went 7 of 8 for 98 yards. 'They had the ball the entire second quarter. Guy just came out and played better in the second half.”

Beathard gave this offense, which finished with 311 total yards, a spark.

'He came in and did a great job for us,” offensive tackle Brandon Scherff said.

Beathard gave this offense a spark.

'Yeah, definitely, he made a couple of big plays for us out there,” said Weisman, who had his best game of the season, rushing 22 times for 88 yards and two TDs. 'That play to DP (Powell), that connection was unbelievable. That play really sparked us.”

Iowa had five plays in the second quarter and then scored on its first three possessions of the second half. Weisman capped a 13-play drive that took 7:47 off the clock with a 1-yard TD for the 24-20 lead with 6:56 left.

Your unsung play of the game was a 10-yarder to tight end Ray Hamilton on a third-and-7 that kept the drive alive. Beathard waited until the last second, took a shot from a blitzer and put a BB on Hamilton.

'Yeah, I enjoyed that,” Hamilton said laughing. 'It was a good read by C.J. We needed a play. C.J. had an opportunity today and he made the most of it. He did a helluva job.”

Beathard gave this offense a spark, and that's the end of this story.