Heading into halftime of Saturday’s match-up with the Pittsburgh Panthers, things were looking mighty bleak for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Coming off of last week’s lost to their in-state rival Iowa State Cyclones (a game that the Hawkeyes were favored by 13 points), the Hawkeyes headed to the locker room trailing the Panthers by a score of 17-7.

Stepping in for starter Jake Rudock, who suffered a seemingly minor knee injury in the first half, quarterback C.J. Beathard took the field for the Hawkeyes to start the second half. With his first pass of the game, Beathard picked up a first down on a seven yard completion to Kevonte Martin-Manley on a third and three. That play was the start of a performance that needs to bring change at the quarterback position in Iowa City.

On the very next play, Beathard completed a 62-yard bomb to wide receiver Damond Powell, who made an incredible one handed catch on the play. Running back Mark Weisman scored a touchdown from 10 yards out three plays later. That seven play, 94 yard drive was a thing of beauty lead by the Hawkeyes’ golden haired quarterback. The long completion from Beathard to Powell set the tone not only on that drive, but for the rest of the game. The Hawkeyes went on to complete the comeback, and defeat Pitt by a score of 24-20.

Beathard completed seven of eight passes on the afternoon for 98 yards. Not the most impressive passing numbers of all-time, but he was incredibly efficient and was a huge reason why the Hawkeyes were able to win the game on Saturday. He showed great poise in the pocket, played without fear and his strong throwing arm was obvious on many plays.

Rudock was the starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes last season. He had a very good year, completing 59% of his passes for 2,383 yards. He also threw 18 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Rudock led the Hawkeyes to a solid 8-4 record in 2013.

He is a good quarterback who is a nice fit for offensive coordinator Greg Davis’ system. That being said, Rudock lacks arm strength, and his dink and dunk style has really held the Hawkeyes back this season.

Iowa is traditionally a very strong running team. Led by All-American Brandon Scherff, the Hawkeyes have a very good offensive line that especially excels at run blocking. Also, Weisman, Jordan Canzeri and Damon Bullock are all more than capable running back options for the Hawkeyes. On paper, the Hawkeyes should be able to continue their tradition of running the ball with success this season.

Even though all of the pieces lined up for the Hawkeyes to have a strong running game this season, prior to the game against Pitt, the Hawkeyes were only averaging 3.6 yards per carry on the year. Those were in games against Northern Iowa, Ball State and Iowa State, none of which have even average rush defenses. The Hawkeyes simply should have pounded the ball with much success in the running game in all three of those games. They did not.

With Rudock under center, teams know that they do not have to defend the deep pass against the Hawkeyes. This allows them to crash the line of scrimmage with eight or even nine men in the box. It does not matter how good your running backs or offensive line is, it will always be extremely tough to run the ball against teams who stack the line of scrimmage like that.

Rudock is a nice player, but Beathard’s ability to throw the deep ball opens up the Iowa offense tremendously. He forces the defense to respect the deep passing game, which will only help the Hawkeyes on the ground.

On top of that, the Hawkeyes are blessed with some big play talent at the wide receiver position this season. Powell is a burner who has shown the ability to beat the defense deep multiple times. Martin-Manley may not have great pure speed, but he works the middle of the field tremendously well, and has been able to get deep at times as well. Tevaun Smith is an athletic freak who has huge big play ability, and freshman Derrick Willies just might be the most talented of the bunch. For possibly the first time ever, the Hawkeyes have a receiving core who can stretch the field and make big plays, Beathard simply gives these receivers more of an opportunity to make an impact than Rudock does.

After the game Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz admitted that, “We’ll probably have a big quarterback controversy back at Iowa now.” When talking about Beathard’s performance Ferentz stated, “I’m glad he played better today than he practiced Thursday. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Ferentz is a traditional football coach who frequently takes the conservative route. The conservative play here is to continue starting Rudock, but the way his counterpart opens up the Hawkeyes’ offense makes this a no-brainer. Beathard needs to start at the quarterback position for the Iowa Hawkeyes. If he does not, the calls for Ferentz to get fired will only get louder, perhaps deservedly so.

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About the author
Dan Schmelzer
Dan is a 25-year-old writer who specializes in Chicago Cubs content. Dan also writes about the Iowa Hawkeyes, Fantasy Football, and covers the NFL.