Play of the Game: Beathard to Kittle

DOWN, DISTANCE:

Iowa faced third down and 9 from Purdue's 35

SCORE/TIME

: Hawkeyes led 20-13 with 3:30 left, third quarter

FORMATION, PERSONNEL

: Iowa — three wide receivers, one tight end, one running back; Purdue — two down linemen, one standing rush end, two linebackers, six defensive backs

WHAT HAPPENED

: Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard threw a dump pass across the middle to tight end George Kittle for a 35-yard touchdown.

WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT:

The score pushed Iowa to a 27-13 lead and stymied Purdue's momentum.

THE ANALYSIS

: Iowa lined up two wide receivers and a running back to Beathard's left, one receiver to his right and Kittle flexed to his left. Purdue had man-to-man coverage. Beathard saw a blitz in his pre-snap read and Kittle shifted to end. At the snap, Purdue blitzed six defenders, including slot corner Da'Wan Hunte and two linebackers. Kittle blocked down for two seconds on defensive end Evan Panfil, which brought safety Brandon Roberts toward the line of scrimmage. Kittle then released from his block and bolted toward the middle of the field. Roberts overran Kittle and left Kittle open by the 30-yard line. Beathard placed the ball perfectly to Kittle, who raced untouched for the score.

C. Beathard pass,to G. Kittle for 35 yds for a TD - ESPN Video

THE QUOTE 1

: 'We were basically faking a mass protection and I was just trying to draw the free safety down because whenever the safety sees me blocking, he's going to blitz. I just held long enough because he started to come downfield, and when I saw that, I just released out in the field and there was no one within 10 yards of me. It's great.' — Kittle

THE QUOTE 2

: 'They were bringing an all-out blitz, and I felt like we got into a good check. We've been working it in practice. I saw that blitz and I got us in a check and George slipped out the back door, and the offensive line did a good job of giving me enough time to get it off. It was a big play.' — Beathard

THE QUOTE 3

: 'There (were) two eye-discipline violations that we had, one on a naked (bootleg) and one on a delayed route by the tight end that led to touchdowns. ... Those are situations, you're in man-to-man coverage. We had a blitz called on one of them, maybe both of them. We let the guy slip down the seam.' — Purdue Coach Darrell Hazell

THE QUOTE 4: 'It was a check. If they got in a certain blitz that C.J. was going to check it, and I just so happened to be in it. It's all a plan.' — Kittle said

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