1st Quarter
The game started off with Iowa picking up a first down on a third down conversion, then QB Jake Rudock went deep to Damond Powell, who couldn't hang on to the ball and it was picked off by Lafayette Pitts. Pitt went to their bruising running back, James Conner, his first run went for 21 yards. The Hawks D ended up stopping them on third to get the ball back. On the next drive Rudock hit Tevaun Smith for a nice first down, but misfired on a couple of throws and had to punt it away. Pitt used the run on the next drive and Iowa struggled as Pitt scored the first td of the game going up 7-0. Iowa was able to strike back on their next possession as Rudock hit Matt VandeBerg for a nice 44 yard gain which set up a td pass to TE Henry Krieger-Coble. 7-7 game.
2nd Quarter
On Pitt's next possession they used another healthy dose of Conner, he ran 11 times, including a 1 yard touchdown which put Pitt up 14-7. The drive chewed up nearly 10 minutes of clock. Iowa was able to pick up a first down on their next drive after a couple of Mark Weisman runs, but the drive stalled out before Dillon Kidd's booming punt inside the 20. Pitt's QB Voytik connected on 7 of 8 passes on the next drive and led them to a field goal right before the half. Pitt had the lead 17-7, and it was looking like it was going to be a long day for the Hawkeyes. In their last four quarters of football they have scored 10 points.
3rd Quarter
Pitt started the second half with the ball and Conner, who had 100 yards in the first half, ran for 24 on the first play and 8 on the second. The defense stepped up and stopped them and forced a punt which was downed at the 6. C.J. Beathard came in at QB for a dinged up Rudock, and provided a much needed spark for the Hawkeyes. It seemed that the team was more fired up at this point. Weisman picked up 7 yards on a couple carries and Beathard hit Kevonte Martin-Manley on third down to move the chains and get some breathing room. On the next play Beathard tossed one downfield to Powell, who made an amazing one-handed grab for a 62 yard gain, which immediately sparked a QB controversy. The Hawkeyes used three straight runs and Weisman was easily able to march into the end zone for a score. Pitt 17 Iowa 14. Pitt started their next drive with a huge pass to Tyler Boyd, one of the top WRs in the country. Pitt had a third and 8 at the Iowa 34 when Desmond King was called for a personal foul on a really horrible call, I really have no idea how they called it, but it set up Pitt at the 19 with a first down. Iowa held them to a field goal. Pitt 20 Iowa 14. Beathard came back out and guided the team down to Pitt territory, but on third and 9 they called a run play to Damon Bullock. Why? I don't know, it set up a 52 yard field goal attempt for Marshall Koehn, and he drilled it! Pitt 20 Iowa 17. The quarter ended with Pitt struggling to move the ball.
4th Quarter
Pitt couldn't convert on a third and 17 and punted away to Iowa and gave them great field position around midfield. The first play was a pass interference on Pitt to set up Iowa at the Pitt 37. Beathard led the Hawks to the 15, but faced a fourth down and 1 situation. They decided to go for it and Beathard picked up the first down on a QB sneak. A few plays later they faced the same situation at the four yard line and Weisman ran for three. Two plays later Weisman ran in for his second score of the day. Iowa 24 Pitt 20. Pitt picked up a few first downs on their next drive, but Iowa was really shutting down Conner, he ran five times for 14 yards on the series. Pitt had a fourth and 10 at the Iowa 29 and decided to go for it, the pass was incomplete! At that point it seemed like a sure victory for Iowa, they had the ball at the 29 with 1:37 left. The first play Weisman rumbled for 19 yards, definitely felt pretty good right then. Pitt shut Iowa down on the next runs to set up a fourth down and some time for Pitt. With 25 seconds left Pitt started at the 20. Voytik hit Boyd for a 16 yard gain and a 15 yard gain setting them up at midfield. I'll admit I was a little nervous at this point, especially with Boyd out there and a pretty young Iowa secondary. Anthony Gair, making his first career start, made an interception on Voytik's next pass and secured Iowa's come from behind victory!
Iowa scored 17 points in the second half, and the defense did a really nice job shutting down Conner. We saw a lot of the Raider Package also, and I think they did a nice job throwing off Pitt's rhythm. I hope Iowa can keep the momentum going heading into their road tilt with Purdue to start the conference season next week.
QBs: Rudock I thought was doing a nice job, he missed on a couple of throw and ended up 5 for 10 with 80 yards and a td. Beathard came in and completed 7 of 8 for 98 yards and ran a couple times for five yards as well. I thought C.J. provided a much needed spark for the offense.
RBs: Weisman really had a solid game picking up 88 yards on 22 carries, not eye-popping numbers, but a good showing for an Iowa team that has struggled running the ball. Jordan Canzeri had 8 carries for 23, Bullock had 2 for 3 and Powell ran one for 14, which was a pass from Beathard, but considered a run since the ball was thrown behind him. Would be nice to see LeShun Daniels again.
FBs: John Kenny did another nice job in his second game as a fullback, they mentioned he hadn't played offense since middle school.
WRs: VandeBerg and Powell were the standouts, each had one catch, but combined for 106 yards. KMM had 2 for 11, Smith 1 for 14 and Hillyer 1 for 3. Since Pitt chewed up so much clock, Iowa only ran 53 plays, only 18 were passes.
TEs: Henry Krieger-Coble had a nice touchdown reception and Jake Duzey and Ray Hamilton each got in the action, Duzey 2 for 11 and Hamilton's catch went for 10 yards.
OL: The OL played very well in the second half and didn't give up a sack all game. Brandon Scherff had a beautiful pancake block picking up a blitz. I think the OL is starting to come together.
DL: The DL looked awful in that first half allowing Conner to go for 100 yards, they look worn down. The second half was much different, there was a lot of subbing, I saw Faith Ekakitie and Jaleel Johnson in there a lot. It's nice to have some good depth at DT.
LBs: The linebackers missed some tackles, but overall I think they did ok. Reggie Spearman got hurt and Josey Jewell playing in his second career game did pretty well in relief. I think this group is starting to come together.
DBs: Gair started in place of Jordan Lomax, who had to sit out after the targeting call against Iowa State. Gair seemed to do a pretty solid job in the first half, and of course, had the big pick at the end of the game to seal the win. Maurice Fleming also started for the first time at CB, but got dinged up a bit. Greg Mabin was able to come back in, he struggled a bit, but also made some nice plays. He was matched up with Boyd, who ended up with 10 catches. Desmond King made some great tackles, too. I think the secondary is coming together and getting some youngsters some much needed experience.
STs: Koehn hit a big 52 yard field goal, he's really got a strong leg and does great on kickoffs. Kidd had a nice 51 yard punt and did a solid job. Riley McCarron had a nice 8 yard punt return, Jonathan Parker had a 22 yard kick return and Powell was in on kick return, he had a 9 yard return after bobbling the ball.
I think Iowa should stick with Beathard at QB for next week's Purdue game. He provides a nice spark for the team and it seemed like there was a lot more energy on the field and sideline, something we really hadn't seen all year. I like Rudock, too, but I just think Beathard is a little better. He's got a better arm, and looks much better than he did last year. Last year it seemed like he was just trying to showcase how strong his arm was and missed out on a few completions because the receivers couldn't hold on. This year he looks much more comfortable and could be a very good QB. Rudock did look good throwing the long ball against Pitt, too. It's not a bad thing having two QBs that can play. Beathard has five series' under his belt and Iowa scored 17 points when he's in. Next week the Hawkeyes play at Purdue, which should be an easy win, I think Purdue is the weakest team on the schedule. This should be a good game for Iowa to pick up the ground game again and let C.J. settle in as the starter. Hopefully the defense will play like they did in the second half as well, I think this one could be a blowout like last year. Iowa hasn't had a 100 yard rusher since the Purdue game last year, and I think they'll have one in this game, probably Weisman.
Hats off to Pittsburgh, I think they have a solid team, especially with Conner and Boyd. The QB will get better with experience, but I think they can contend in their division this year, they have a favorable schedule. I really like the Iowa-Pitt series, they've always been great games. Pitt returns to Kinnick next year.
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