C.J. Beathard came into the game for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the second half and led them to a 24-20 victory on the road over the Pittsburgh Panthers. James Conner ran for 155 yards in the loss, but he is emerging as one of the best backs in the nation with his early season performances.

Jake Rudock started the game for Iowa, but he threw an interception to Lafayette Pitts on the first drive. However, Iowa did not give up any points after that turnover.

Pittsburgh started the scoring with Chris James' 14 yard burst for a touchdown and the 7-0 lead. Iowa responded on their next drive. Rudock hit Matt VandeBerg for a 44 yard pass to get to the Pittsburgh 21 yard line. Four plays later, Rudock hit Henry Krieger Coble for the 13 yard touchdown on a play-action pass to tie the game. That play came on fourth and two.

Pittsburgh used a long, methodical drive to recapture the lead. The Panthers took 9:42 off the clock and went 75 yards in 18 plays. James Conner punched the ball in from a yard out to make it 14-7 Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh added a 33 yard field goal from Chris Blewitt in the final second to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.

The second half saw the introduction of C.J. Beathard at quarterback for Iowa and he made an immediate impact. His second pass of the game was a bomb to Damond Powell, which produced a beautiful one handed catch for a 62 yard gain. Mark Weisman ran in from 10 yards out three plays later to make it a 17-14 lead for Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh did manage a 29 yard field goal from Chris Blewitt on the next drive to extend their lead to 20-14. Iowa responded with a field goal of their own. Marshall Koehn drilled the kick right down the middle from 52 yards out to make it a 20-17 going into the final quarter.

Iowa's first drive of the fourth quarter gave them their first lead of the game. The Hawkeyes went 52 yards in 13 plays and took 7:47 off the clock. Weisman's second touchdown run from a yard out made it 24-20.

Pittsburgh drove right down the field to the Iowa 29 yard line. However, Conner was stopped on first down for no gain and Chad Voytik threw three incompletions to turn the ball over on downs. Greg Mabin made two crucial knockdowns on third and fourth down while covering Tyler Boyd to give Iowa the ball back.

Pittsburgh had one final chance with 25 seconds left, but Voytik's overthrow was picked off by Anthony Gair to seal the victory for Iowa.

Jake Rudock went 7 of 12 for 150 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the first half. C.J. Beathard came in for the second half and went 7 of 8 for 88 yards.

Mark Weisman ran for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries. Damond Powell was leading receiver with his one catch for 62 yards. Matt VandeBerg had 1 catch for 44 yards as well. 10 different Hawkeyes caught a pass on Saturday against the Panthers.

Chad Voytik had a career-high 250 yards on 19 of 29 passing. He also threw the interception on the last play of the game. James Conner ran for 155 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Conner now has 699 yards on the season his first four games. His lowest output is 153 yards against Delaware in the season opener.

Tyler Boyd caught 10 passes for 153 yards to lead the Panthers. Coming into Saturday's game, Boyd had totaled 140 yards on 11 catches for the season.

Iowa (3-1) has completed their non-conference schedule with four straight one possession games. They travel to Lafayette, Indiana next week to take on Purdue (2-2).

Pittsburgh (3-1, 1-0) will play Akron next week in their final non-conference game.

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About the author
Matthew Dixon
I follow College Football at all levels; FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III. In addition, I am a horse racing enthusiast.