Iowa 24, Purdue 10: A lap around the stadium

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Going into a bye week, the Hawkeyes kind of soaked this one in.

They finished off Purdue, 24-10, and strolled around Ross-Ade Stadium. starting with a clump of Hawkeyes fans in the north end zone. They then worked their way along the westside bleachers. Only 36,603 fans showed up Saturday and it was all Iowa people at the end, so the floor was the Hawkeyes'.

The victory lap ended with a stream of Iowa fans in the south end zone. Cue that 'In Heaven there is no Beer” song and head off into a bye week with a win, an ugly, gritty, grimy win.

Iowa's defense mugged the Boilermakers (2-3, 0-1 Big Ten) all day and the offense eventually happened for the Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0). In his first start, sophomore quarterback C.J. Beathard completed 17 of 37 for 245 yards and a TD. Running back Mark Weisman scored two touchdowns, but the Iowa defense was stellar, forcing punts or picking off Purdue on its final nine possessions.

No, Iowa wasn't going to get out of here that easily. It didn't arrive here easily, with the fire in Aurora, Ill., causing airline snags and sending the Hawkeyes on an unscheduled six-hour bus ride. The team didn't arrive here until around 9:30 Friday night.

'It was chill,” Beathard said. 'We were just on the bus with your team, hanging out and playing cards. It's different from a plane and hanging out in a hotel, but we didn't let that effect how we played.”

And, no, it wasn't going to be that easy for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. He knew what was coming in the postgame and he was ready. Three times, Ferentz was asked about quarterback. The man has a story and he is sticking to it.

'We have two good quarterbacks, I've been saying that since this season got going,” Ferentz said when asked if the QB conversation remains open during the bye week. 'We've got two good quarterbacks.”

Beathard went through his struggles, tossing a pick 6 in the first quarter, but was generally steady in his first start. Junior Jake Rudock, who suffered a hip pointer last week at Pittsburgh, was available and medically cleared, but Ferentz said he didn't want to play him. Rudock jogged off the field after the game with a slight limp.

The next time around on the QB question Ferentz was asked that if Rudock is 100 percent for the Indiana game - Iowa faces the Hoosiers (2-2) at Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 11 - is he the starter? Ferentz said he expects him to be ready and then he rolled the tape.

'We've got two good quarterbacks,” he said. 'I'm not too worried about it. We just wanted to win today. Both guys did a great job. Jake was right there with him. It's a good situation.”

It didn't look great in the first quarter. After two three-and-outs, Beathard threw late to the sideline for tight end Ray Hamilton. He didn't see Purdue safety Frankie Williams sneak under the route. And 39 yards later it was a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown and Purdue led 7-0 with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

And then two more three-and-outs. And then it looked kind of bleak. Except Beathard wasn't paying any attention to that.

'He was fine, his demeanor was great,” running back Mark Weisman said. 'You just say to him, ‘Get over it.' You have to lead us out there the next drive. He was fine. He was completely fine. He showed great demeanor. He didn't let it affect him at all.”

With the defense giving Iowa's offense plenty of slack, the Hawkeyes pulled to within 10-7 when Weisman crashed in from the 2 with 8:15 left in the first half. Junior Marshall Koehn made a 28-yard field goal to tie it 10-10 at halftime.

With 45 seconds left in the third quarter, Beathard lofted a 23-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley. The play was ruled out of bounds on the field, but called a TD after review. Iowa led 17-10 and was pretty much sitting on Purdue's chest and tweaking its ears at this point.

Beathard seemed to shake out of it after a 15-yard QB draw that helped lead to Weisman's first TD. After that, Beathard was fine. His demeanor was great. Seriously.

'I can't remember the plays chronologically when they happened,” Beathard said when asked if there was one moment where he felt things come together. 'Maybe it was the draw. That was our first big first down. We needed something to get us going. Anytime, I can run the ball, it's nice.”

Iowa's defense held the Boilermakers to four first downs and just 56 yards in the second half. The 156 yards total offense is the fewest Iowa has allowed since 112 yards to Ball State in 2010, a span of 39 games.

'I was disappointed we couldn't create any offense,” Purdue coach Darrell Hazell said. 'We need to do some soul searching right now.”

Iowa finished this one off by trying to find ways not to score. With a first down at the 5 with 2 1/2 minutes left, the offense throttled down. Free safety John Lowdermilk snared an interception and had a free run to the end zone. He slid and the victory lap commenced.

The QB conversation will be ongoing, and Ferentz knows this. No conclusions will need to be made for two weeks. It will be a point of discussion and Ferentz's script will be tested, but hey, at least Iowa got to fly home after the game.