Quarterback controversy might be the only two words I needed to write up here.
It’s all the buzz after C.J. Beathard replaced an injured Jake Rudock in the second half of Iowa’s win at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Rudock, who started in each of the first three games of the season, never played in the second half against the Panthers and was said to have suffered some sort of lower-body injury.
Enter Beathard, who led the Hawkeyes to enough points and a result that now has everyone anxiously waiting to see who’ll crouch behind center in the next game.
Without knowing the severity of Rudock’s injury, which few outside the program seem to, now might be the time to see what Iowa has in its potentially former backup quarterback.
Iowa opens its Big Ten schedule on the road this week (OK, maybe not ideal) at Purdue. The Hawkeyes then have next week off before hosting Indiana for Homecoming on Oct. 11.
If Rudock isn’t 100 percent prior to playing the Boilermakers — for what it’s worth, he was listed as the starter when the team released its updated two-deeps Monday — it would give the team an opportunity to see what Beathard can do with the offense over the duration of a full game. It’d also give Beathard a clean slate to work with knowing he’s the guy, even if only for one Saturday.
Iowa would then have its bye week to re-evaluate where performances and health coincide.
There’s a line of thinking that suggests a team with two quarterbacks doesn’t have any. Following his team’s win at Pittsburgh, Kirk Ferentz addressed that thought and how it relates to Iowa, saying, “Usually, if you have two, you don’t have any. But this is a situation where I think we have two.”
Time will only tell who quarterbacks the Hawkeyes into October and November. The last time Iowa found itself in a similar squabble was 2008 when Jake Christensen eventually gave way to Ricky Stanzi. Christensen eventually faded into the obscurity that is American football played in Germany while Stanzi went on to compile 26 wins in the Black and Gold, second best in school history.
Twitter and individuals yearning for long-haired quarterbacks have already drawn comparisons between Stanzi and Beathard, although Beathard seems to be much more of a threat in the passing game than Stanzi was in his first season of regular playing time.
The ultimate result of Iowa’s last quarterback question was a trip to Miami and a major bowl victory.
Before this year began, Iowa was picked as a sleeper to play in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship. Based on the Hawkeyes’ first four games, Beathard maybe the one to reignite those hopes.
Contact Sports Writer Ben Schuff at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6536 or at bschuff@newtondailynews.com.