QBs considered yet again

IOWA CITY - No one is closer, professionally speaking, to the Hawkeyes' quarterbacks than center Austin Blythe.

Is there any difference in the, uh, how best to put this? In the caress of Jake Rudock or C.J. Beathard? Does it matter who's hands are, uh, down there?

'No, no it doesn't,” the junior said without missing a beat.

OK, there you have it. If Blythe doesn`t know, then maybe it doesn`t matter which quarterback will run the Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) this weekend against Indiana (3-2, 0-1).

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz didn't get into sequencing Tuesday. Rudock is the starter. Beathard will play. Iowa has a first-team quarterback and another first-team quarterback. That adds up to two quarterbacks who Ferentz believes will move an offense that needs moving (Iowa's 22.6 points a game is 12th in the Big Ten).

Unless the laws of physics are defied, Iowa will be allowed only one quarterback at a time. Rudock starts, Beathard plays and then it's an Arctic expedition into the great unknown.

What is the biggest challenge about sailing a schooner into the Arctic Ocean and/or using two quarterbacks in a game? (Given the rarity of success, they are an equal endeavor.)

'We'll find out, I guess,” Ferentz said. 'We're not even sure what the plan is right now, totally. Bottom line, we've got two guys we feel good about. Sound like a broken record on this one. Both guys have played well. Jake's done a great job for us, and C.J., when called upon, has really played well too. We'll just try to figure out the best way to work it.”

This started during the second half at Pittsburgh, when Rudock suffered a hip injury before halftime. Beathard came in, completed 7 of 8 passes and guided Iowa to a comeback victory. Rudock sat out Iowa's last game, a 24-10 victory Sept. 27 at Purdue. Beathard struggled through a first quarter that saw him throw a pick 6, but eventually he locked in and executed.

Rudock took most of the practice reps with the first unit during Iowa's bye last week. Beathard will play, both Ferentz and offensive coordinator Greg Davis have said and keep saying. The best thing about Tuesday was the 'saying” on this matter came to an end. The next time Ferentz talks it will be postgame Indiana. There will be tangible quarterback results to talk about. For now, we have interpretation on a theme.

Ferentz smushed the 'how this QB thing will work” question Tuesday like gnats. There were some possibly meaningful moments (or there was a lot of gamesmanship for Indiana coach Kevin Wilson and his staff).

On whether or not Rudock's experience, 17 consecutive games as the starter before Purdue, gives him an advantage: 'Every player has a resume, whether it be what they're doing on the field, their academic work, their citizenship, and we keep close track of that from start to finish. This is a results-driven activity, so it's about what you're doing and what you're projected to do. But based on what you've done in the past helps predict those kinds of things.

'To me, Jake entered this season as a guy who played well a year ago. I think a lot of that has been diminished by people, at least if you hear the chatter. But he's done a lot of good things for us. The biggest change is C.J.'s played well, too.”

This could indeed be a completely undefined deal going into Saturday. How do you stop one QB from looking over his shoulder after a mistake? One way is to not worry about it.

'What we're worried about is moving the football and scoring points,” Ferentz said. 'I think both players are worried about that too. We have a pretty unselfish group of guys. We haven't played the best, but this is a fun group to work with. They've got a great attitude and they work extremely hard and care a lot about each other, so that's the least of my concern. The biggest thing is us moving the football and scoring points.”

Another factlet that no one has really acknowledged is Ferentz didn't automatically call Rudock the starter upon his return from injury. Technically, yes, he did, but he also said Beathard will play. This is a challenge to Rudock and that's how he views it.

'Yeah, that's how you have to look at it,” Rudock said. 'You can't make it more than it is.”

Furthermore on where Iowa QB is in week 6, 'Sometimes, people love the backup and he's a good quarterback,” Rudock said. 'He's obviously proven that.”

Rudock took about 10 minutes of questions Tuesday. He said the QB plan should be firmed in the next couple of days. He's eager to reclaim his job. He wants to take every snap.

'Not everybody is going to like you at the end of the day for whatever reason,” he said, 'whether it's your style of play or if they just think you're not a nice person. I think everybody in the world goes through things like that, having scrutiny and having things that aren't always peachy 100 percent of the time.”

Beathard brought up a good point. Before the 2013 season, he, Rudock and Cody Sokol were locked in a three-man race to QB. Even though Rudock won the job, the battle has never really stopped for Beathard.

'I think we're kind of getting used to it,” he said. 'We've been battling. We've learned how to embrace it. We're positive for each other, we're just kind of used to it.”

Rudock fielded a lot of questions about handling this. Beathard has been the backup for nearly a year and a half. How has he handled that?

'You don't come to school to be the backup quarterback,” Beathard said. 'That's my role right now. Until I can make a move or whatever, you've got to prepare as though you are the starter, accept my role on the team and be positive.”

The list of two-QB systems that have worked is not long. The examples don't immediately come to mind. Ferentz said Tuesday that Iowa would break this ice. Or at least try to.

Examples of two-QB systems that have worked?

'Yeah, you'll probably have to Google that one, I'm not too sure,” wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley said. 'Hopefully, ours does work.”

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