Beathard knows all about the Rose

IOWA CITY — This might not get him in good graces with his coach, but this little piece of Rose Bowl/Iowa perspective got a double-take out of quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Beathard was told Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who turned 60 years old in August, was 3 the last time Iowa won a Rose Bowl, that was Jan. 1, 1959 with a 38-12 victory over California.

'That's crazy, it is crazy to think about,' Beathard said. And then he paused.

'It is surprising,' he said. 'It's crazy to think he was 3?! That is crazy.'

OK, he might want to hold back a little bit on the 'coach' and 'crazy' and '3' stuff, but Beathard knows how much weight a Rose Bowl carries in Iowa. The No. 5 Hawkeyes (12-1) haven't been to one since 1991. All week in the Hansen Performance Center, No. 6 Stanford (11-2), Iowa's opponent on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, highlights have played on the multitude of flat screens.

Iowa has played in five Rose Bowls. The Hawkeyes are 2-3 with both wins coming under Forest Evashevski in 1957 and 1959. Ferentz has been to two as an Iowa assistant coach under Hayden Fry (1982 and 1986). No Iowa player on the current roster was born before Iowa's last Rose Bowl appearance, with the fifth-year seniors being born in 1993.

'My memories are blurred, too,' Ferentz said in response to a question about Iowa and its Rose Bowl history. 'I'm eager to go and I've been there twice. I'm eager to go just to kind of rekindle things a little bit.'

Ferentz entertained a few questions this week about the Rose and what it means to Iowa. 'Entertained' isn't the same as 'answered.'

Beathard answered the living daylights out of the question. Again, a little Iowa perspective: Only two quarterbacks in Iowa history have won this game — Kenny Ploen (1957) and Randy Duncan (1959). What would it mean to join that group?

'That would be big, not just for me but for this team,' Beathard said. 'This Iowa football team would go down in history. We want to do that. 12-0, it's a big accomplishment, winning a Rose Bowl would be even bigger. We want to cap the season off with a win. That would be awesome.'

The Rose Bowl has been in the Beathard family since C.J.'s great uncle Pete Beathard held off a comeback effort from Wisconsin for a 42-37 victory and a USC national title in 1963. He went 8-for-12 for 190 yards and four touchdowns and was named the co-MVP. C.J.'s uncle, Kurt, was wide receivers coach at Illinois when the Fighting Illini made it to the Rose in 2008.

So, there's that and then there's the Iowa factor. Rose Bowls come along more than comets, but not much more. Going from finals into a week of practice this week, Iowa players have seen the Rose glow first hand.

'Everywhere you go people are talking about it, in this building and everywhere,' Beathard said. 'You go outside, you go out to eat, it's there. It's huge. It's big for our fans and the people of this state.'

(An aside: the Iowa Department of Transportation will have a Rose Bowl-themed message on its electronic signs over highways across the state.)

One thing the college football world learned about Beathard this year was the stage wasn't a big deal for him.

From the 8-yard scramble to help set up the game-winning field goal against Pitt to leading the Hawkeyes to a 40-10 win on the road at Northwestern while playing through a groin strain to throwing an 85-yard TD pass in the Big Ten title game that nearly delivered a victory, Beathard hasn't blinked at the odds nor has he been frozen in the spotlight.

'You can't get too focused on the lights and everything pouring in on you because it's a Rose Bowl,' Beathard said. 'There's a lot of attention, there will be a lot of activities, attractions. We can enjoy it, but we've got one task at hand and that's win the game. We intend to go in there and do it.'

(Another aside: Of course, you know by now that Beathard's grandfather, Bobby Beathard, was an NFL general manager and built Super Bowl teams with the Redskins and Chargers. Beathard's dad, Casey, was a ball boy with the Redskins. C.J. has been immersed in the game his entire life. Seeing the game eye-to-eye like that had to have helped. 'I think that prepared me for a lot. The family background I have, with my grandpa and my dad and uncles, I've been in football all of my life and that's prepared me. I've seen how those NFL guys prepare and how they act around people.')

Beathard again won't be 100 percent, he said. Since early October, he's been slowed by groin and hip injuries and that won't change for the Rose Bowl. One of the treatments Beathard received during these issues was 'dry needling,' which is when a 'dry' needle, one without medication or injection, is inserted through the skin into areas of the muscle known as trigger points. It's typically a technique used as part of a larger treatment plan.

'It's not bad,' said Beathard, who added that rest was his biggest ally against this injury. 'It helped a little bit, but I'm obviously not 100 percent better. We tried a lot of different things. There wasn't necessarily one thing that worked better than the other, it was a mixture of a lot of stuff.'

Beathard clearly improved down the stretch, hurting Indiana and Minnesota (88 yards and three TDs) with his feet. Beathard's six rushing TDs ties Nathan Chandler for the most rushing TDs for a QB in the Ferentz era.

The stat that ricochets with Beathard is 13-1 as Iowa's starting quarterback. It's impressive and it's one that is mentioned over and over on broadcasts and one you'll certainly hear going into the Rose.

Beathard appreciates it, but, frankly, it's not one he tracks.

'I've heard a lot of noise about that, 13-0 and whatever,' he said, 'but that has nothing to do with me. I just happened to be the quarterback of a team that won 13 games. That's a tribute to the team and the hard work its done all season.'

On this Tuesday in late December, Beathard is wearing a black hoodie with a gold 'Iowa' written on the front and a 'TaxSlayer Bowl' logo on the pocket. It's not a reminder, he said, of last year's Hawkeye flop in their bowl game. It was a free hoodie and why not?

The biggest stage yet, and a completely different hoodie, awaits.

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