Hawkeyes Football: Three Stars From Week Two's Win

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Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

C.J. Beathard

19/28 Passing, 235 Yards, 3 TDs

Kirk Ferentz let C.J. Beathard air it out early and often against Iowa State, and it worked. The Hawkeyes still rushed the ball 36 times, however, with Beathard closing in on 4,000 career passing yards, it was evident that the Hawkeyes wanted him to reach that mark.

Beathard finished the game throwing for 235 yards and became just the 10th quarterback in Iowa history to eclipse 4,000 yards in his career. He also remains undefeated in the regular season as a starter.

Unlike most games where Iowa wants to establish a run game early, Beathard took control of the offense. The Hawkeyes first three touchdowns all came through the air and Beathard ran for one late in the second quarter. Plus, all three touchdowns went to a different receiver, including a 26-yard pass to running back Akrum Wadley thanks to a blown coverage. Beathard tied his career-high with three touchdowns and was unstoppable for most of the game.

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Beathard continued his characteristically smart playmaking and spread the ball out. The Hawkeyes still haven’t committed a turnover and eight different players caught a pass, seven from Beathard. Besides VandeBerg having a career night, Riley McCarron and George Kittle each had at least three catches.

On the ground, Beathard wasn’t Deshaun Watson, but that’s not his game. He did have a one-yard touchdown run, however the Hawkeyes tried to call a designed run for him in the red zone in the first quarter and it failed miserably. Beathard wasn’t fast enough and easily got beat to the corner, not giving him any chance of getting into the end zone.

Besides the early gun slinging from the quarterback, it was a very characteristic C.J. Beathard game. He didn’t make mistakes and put Iowa in positions to score and eventually win the game.

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