Depth Chart Monday: Rudock the starter, no Bullock

It looks as though junior Jake Rudock indeed will be Iowa's starting quarterback this weekend against Indiana (3-2, 0-1 Big Ten).

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz told Sirius XM last week that Rudock, who left the second half of Iowa's game at Pittsburgh on Sept. 20 with a hip injury, would remain Iowa's starter. The depth chart released by Iowa sports information on Monday said exactly that, listing Rudock as starter over sophomore C.J. Beathard.

'Jake has done a good job this year. He still is our starter, but, obviously, when C.J. has had the opportunity, he's gone in and played very well,” Ferentz said last week, which Iowa had off. 'He played very well at Pittsburgh and played did a good job last week for us on the road. It's the first time I've really been involved in a situation like this where we've got two guys who we think are really good players. They both deserve to play. We'll just have to figure that out as we go along.”

Beathard replaced Rudock and led Iowa to a 24-20 victory at Pitt after trailing 17-7 at halftime. The next week in Iowa's Big Ten opener at Purdue, Beathard struggled in the first quarter, but pulled it together, completing 17 of 37 for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Iowa receivers were charged with seven drops against Purdue, but it was the first time since Nov. 21, 2009 against Minnesota that the Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0) won with their quarterback completing less than 50 percent of his passes. James Vandenberg completed 11 of 24 (45.8) percent in a 12-0 win. Beathard completed 45.9 percent of his passes.

Rudock started 17 consecutive games before the hip injury. The hip injury at Pitt was the fourth time in his last nine games that Rudock couldn't finish because of injury. He suffered knee sprains that sent him to the sidelines against Wisconsin, Nebrasaka and Minnesota in 2013.

Beathard, who also rushed eight times for 29 yards against Purdue, became the first Iowa QB to win his first career start on the road since Jason Manson won at Syracuse in 2006.

Rudock has thrown for a career total of 3,181 passing yards, the 10th highest in school history. He passed for more yards (572) through the first two games of the season than any quarterback in program history.

So ...

'Figure it out as we go along”? I'm not sure what that could mean.

It wasn't the same situation, but for the heck of it, I went back to a story from 2001 (we called them 'stories” then) to see what I wrote about Kyle McCann and Brad Banks. They semi-shared the QB job in 2001. Banks' effectiveness tailed off in the second half of the season, so there was less of him then. Of course, 2002 is historical stuff.

It's not a great compare. Rudock and Beathard are more similar than dissimilar. OC Greg Davis is exactly right about that.

Iowa lost 32-26 to Michigan in 2001 at Kinnick and there was much booing.

McCann's mistakes were tangible. He threw two interceptions that turned into two Michigan touchdowns. That season, eight of McCann's 10 interceptions came in Iowa's three losses and led to 31 points.

Banks' mistakes were less explosive. He had an overthrow, an underthrow, a bad formation. There was a third-and-2 late in the third quarter. Banks rolled out and looked as if he would streak to a first down, past Iowa's 34-yard line. With three Michigan defenders in heavy pursuit, he ditched out of bounds for a 1-yard loss.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Ferentz said McCann was and would remain Iowa's No. 1 quarterback. He also said then the plan for Banks would continue to be spot series in favorable situations.

McCann was a pretty levelheaded guy (I think he's a lawyer now?): 'I think everybody wants the same thing. They want to see the Hawks do well.”

There was no real internet then. There certainly was no Twitter. There was booing in Kinnick. There was an undercurrent of fan support in favor of Banks.

'There are plays to be made by everybody,” said Kahlil Hill, who was a senior WR for Iowa in ‘01. 'It's tough to be quarterback. The losses are blamed on the QBs because that's the easiest position to pick on. There's 11 people out there.”

No Bullock ...

Here's what Ferentz said about RB Damon Bullock and WR Matt VandeBerg last week: 'We're they're at for our next game [Indiana], I'm just not sure. Hopefully, we'll have a better handle on that next Tuesday. I think they both have a realistic chance to be ready. We'll have to look at it day-to-day.”

Bullock isn't listed on today's depth chart. VandeBerg is listed as a No. 2 WR, where he usually is.

Sophomore LeShun Daniels replaced Bullock as Iowa's kind-of third-down back (it's more than just third down, it's the back Iowa uses in 11 personnel, which is one RB and one TE, a formation that Iowa has favored this year). He finished with one rush for 7 yards (converted a third down) and dropped the one pass attempt that went his way. He missed a blitz early in the game, but held up as a blocker.

Here's what Ferentz said: 'LeShun has been doing well all year. He had a good spring and he had a really good August. He's doing a great job. We're really pleased with him. The problem has been where do you fit everyone in? He did a really nice job the other day on third down, he did well with his protections that type of thing. We're just glad he's on the team and we'll see what we do here as we move along.”

TV stuff

... The Indiana game is 11:01 and will be televised on ESPNU. Next week's game at Maryland will kick off 11 a.m. Iowa time and be broadcast on ESPN2.

That ends a streak of four in a row scheduled 11 a.m. kicks for Iowa. Don't expect to hear about the Northwestern kick probably until Oct. 20. That's a Monday when the TV stuff is finalized. There is no scheduled kickoff or TV time for that game and probably won't be until Oct. 20.

Points of interest

... Some good stuff from Iowa sports info:

' Iowa K Marshall Koehn kicked a career-long 52-yard field goal at Pitt on Sept. 20. It was, at the time, the longest made field goal in the Big Ten this season. Indiana K Griffin Oakes now owns the longest field in the conference this season. Oakes connected from 58 yards vs. Maryland on Sept. 27.

' Iowa's 45.6 third-down conversion percentage ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten. Indiana has a 32.5 percent opponent third-down conversion rate, the fourth best in the conference.

' Iowa FB John Kenny is from Carmel, Ind. The Hoosiers' roster includes no Iowans.

' Indiana co-defensive coordinator William Inge played DE for the Hawkeyes from 1993-96.

' Iowa has trailed in each of its four wins, and erased 10-point deficits in three wins (Ball State, Pitt, Purdue).

' Iowa's win at Pitt was its first road win after trailing by 10 or more points in the second half during the Ferentz era.

' Iowa has converted seven fourth-down attempts, more than any other Big Ten team. The Hawkeyes have scored two touchdowns on fourth down (one pass, one rush).

' Iowa has outscored its opponents 62-36 in the second half.

' Iowa's quarterback duo of Jake Rudock (66.9) and C.J. Beathard (54.2) has combined for a 63.4 completion percentage, the second-highest percentage in the Big Ten.

TWO DEEPS

Offense

SE - 4 ** Tevaun Smith ^ 6-2 200 Jr. Toronto, Ontario (Kent School, Conn.) 18 Derrick Willies 6-4 210 #Fr. Rock Island, Ill. (Rock Island)

LT - 68 *** Brandon Scherff 6-5 320 Sr. Denison, Iowa (Denison) 75 Ike Boettger 6-6 267 #Fr. Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls)

LG - 79 Sean Welsh 6-3 285 #Fr. Springboro, Ohio (Springboro) 58 Eric Simmons 6-2 295 Jr. Madrid, Iowa (Iowa Western CC)

C - 63 ** Austin Blythe 6-3 290 Jr. Williamsburg, Iowa (Williamsburg) 57 * Tommy Gaul 6-3 280 Sr. Des Moines, Iowa (Dowling Catholic)

RG - 65 ** Jordan Walsh 6-4 290 Jr. Glendale Heights, Ill. (Glenbard West) 52 Boone Myers 6-5 285 #Fr. Webster City, Iowa (Webster City)

RT- 78 ** Andrew Donnal 6-7 305 Sr. Montclova, Ohio (Anthony Wayne) 64 Cole Croston 6-5 270 So. Sergeant Bluff, Iowa (Sergeant Bluff-Luton)

TE - 82 *** Ray Hamilton ^ 6-5 252 Sr. Strongsville, Ohio (Strongsville) 80 ** Henry Krieger Coble 6-4 250 Jr. Mount Pleasant, Iowa (Mount Pleasant)

WR - 11 *** Kevonte Martin-Manley 6-0 205 Sr. Pontiac, Mich. (Brother Rice) 89 * Matt VandeBerg ^ 6-1 175 So. Brandon, S.D. (Brandon Valley)

WR - 17 ** Jacob Hillyer 6-4 208 Jr. Somerset, Texas (Somerset) 22 * Damond Powell ^ 5-11 180 Sr. Toledo, Ohio (Rogers HS/Snow CC)

QB - 15 * Jake Rudock 6-3 208 Jr. Weston, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) 16 * C.J. Beathard 6-2 203 So. Franklin, Tenn. (Battle Ground Academy)

RB - 45 ** Mark Weisman 6-0 240 Sr. Buffalo Grove, Ill. (Stevenson) OR 33 ** Jordan Canzeri 5-9 192 Jr. Troy, N.Y. (Troy) 5 *** 29 * LeShun Daniels, Jr. ^ 6-0 230 So. Warren, Ohio (Harding)

FB - 47 John Kenny 6-2 225 #Fr. Carmel, Ind. (Carmel) 42 * Macon Plewa 6-2 236 Jr. Franklin, Wis (Franklin)

PK - 1 Marshall Koehn 6-0 195 Jr. Solon, Iowa (Solon) 2 Mick Ellis ^ 5-10 180 Fr. Allen, Texas (Lovejoy)

Defense

LE - 34 * Nate Meier ^ 6-2 244 Jr. Tabor, Iowa (Fremont-Mills) 98 ** Mike Hardy 6-5 280 Sr. Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly)

LT - 71 ** Carl Davis 6-5 315 Sr. Detroit, Mich. (Stevenson) 56 Faith Ekakitie 6-3 287 So. Brampton, Ontario (Lake Forest Academy)

RT- 90 ** Louis Trinca-Pasat 6-3 290 Sr. Chicago, Ill. (Lane Tech) 67 Jaleel Johnson 6-4 310 So. Lombard, Ill. (Montini Catholic)

RE - 95 * Drew Ott^ 6-4 270 Jr. Trumbull, Neb. (Giltner) 98 ** Mike Hardy 6-5 280 Sr. Appleton, Wis. (Kimberly)

OLB - 41 Bo Bower 6-1 220 #Fr. West Branch, Iowa (West Branch) 44 Ben Niemann ^ 6-3 205 Fr. Sycamore, Ill. (Sycamore)

MLB - 52 *** Quinton Alston ^ 6-1 232 Sr. Sicklerville, N.J. (Timber Creek Reg.) 39 ** Travis Perry 6-3 232 Jr. Urbandale, Iowa (Urbandale)

WLB - 6 * Reggie Spearman ^ 6-3 230 So. Chicago, Ill. (Simeon) 43 Josey Jewell 6-2 225 #Fr. Decorah, Iowa (Decorah)

LC - 13 Greg Mabin 6-2 195 So. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Calvery Christian Academy) 28 * Maurice Fleming 6-0 200 So. Chicago, Ill. (Curie Metropolitan)

SS - 37 *** John Lowdermilk ^ 6-2 210 Sr. Carrollton, Ohio (Carrollton) 19 Miles Taylor ^ 6-0 185 Fr. Silver Springs, Md. (Gonzaga College)

FS - 27 ** Jordan Lomax 5-10 200 Jr. Upper Marlboro, Md. (DeMatha Catholic) 12 * Anthony Gair 6-2 200 So. Plano, Texas (Prestonwood Christian)

RC - 14 * Desmond King ^ 5-11 190 So. Detroit, Mich. (East English Village) 7 ** Sean Draper ^ 6-0 190 Jr. Cleveland, Ohio (Glenville)

PT - 16 Dillon Kidd 6-2 230 Jr. Deerfield Beach, Fla. (El Camino CC) 98 ** Connor Kornbrath ^ 6-6 240 Jr. Bridgeport, W. Va. (Bridgeport)

Specialists

Punt Returns

: 83 Riley McCarron 89 Matt VandeBerg

Kickoff Returns

: 10 Jonathan Parker 33 Jordan Canzeri

Deep Snaps

: 97 Tyler Kluver

Holder

: 16 Dillon Kidd 98 Connor Kornbrath

* - - Letters won ^ - - Redshirt year still available # - - Indicates redshirt freshman

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