By Jordan Hansen
Early on, it was obvious Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard was in for special night against Iowa State.
After trading punts with the Cyclones to the start the game, the Hawkeye offense got the ball back. Immediately, Beathard zipped a pass to Riley McCarron, the receiver’s second catch of the season. He handed the ball off on the ensuing two plays before stepping back and launching a pass to Matt VandeBerg that put Iowa at the Cyclone’s 5-yard line.
Two plays later, Beathard lofted an easy pass to George Kittle for his first touchdown of the night. It was not the Hawks’ last, and they cruised to a 42-3 win over Iowa State, which included three scores from Beathard’s arm and another from his legs.
“The way the game played out, the throwing game got in a rhythm early,” Beathard said. “When we’re hitting plays like that, [Coach Davis] has confidence in the passing game. Certain games, when you get a completion, you start to roll a little bit.
“This was one of those games … guys were making plays.”
Everything seemed to go Beathard’s way. VandeBerg had one of the best games of his career — 7 catches for 129 yards and a touchdown — and the running game dominated as well.
The highlight, however, came on his touchdown catch toward the beginning of the second quarter. Beathard threw a ball to the back of the end zone. It was a bit of a crossing route, and VandeBerg had a step on the defensive back.
Leaping up, VandeBerg stretched out and — miraculously — caught the ball. Touchdown. Iowa 21, Iowa State 3.
“We work on stuff like [the touchdown catch] in practice. We don’t want anything in the game to take us by surprise,” Vandeberg said. “Obviously, we don’t get that exact look in practice, but knowing that I have to go get it is something that’s carried over from practice.”
It was only the second quarter, but with one play, he managed to suck the life out of the Cyclones.
However, it was more than just a couple plays that have Iowa undefeated in this young season. Beathard’s chemistry with VandeBerg is one of the most encouraging things about this young season, and it is obvious nearly every play.
Beathard and VandeBerg know each other’s tendencies well and that leads to one being confident that the other can make a play. There has been no drop-off from last year, when they connected 65 times for 703 yards — through two games, VandeBerg has 11 catches for 228 yards.
Those numbers are probably a little inflated because of the competition the Hawkeyes have faced, but they are good all the same. The Iowa offense has rarely looked bogged down so far this year, and that has a lot to do with how well Beathard is chucking the ball.
Through two games, he’s 32-of-48 for 427 yards and 4 passing touchdowns. Most importantly, he hasn’t turned the ball over once.
The Hawkeyes ended up with 39 more passing yards than rushing. It was due more to Iowa State’s issues in the secondary than anything else, but it was obvious the Cyclone were trying, with everything they could, to stop the Hawkeyes’ solid running game, but it opened up things for the Iowa wide receivers.
Time and time again, Beathard found his targets, and Iowa State simply could not keep up.
“The best thing for us is to be balanced,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “If you can make some precision plays in the passing game, that’s a good thing.”
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