The Iowa football team finished as well as it could have on Sept. 12 to beat Iowa State, 31-14.

By Ryan Rodriguez
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AMES — Had Iowa’s game against Iowa State ended after the first half, the story the following morning in Iowa City would have been one of extreme missed opportunity, a crushing loss to a hated rival dealt in a week that had already been hard on the Hawkeyes.

Luckily for Iowa, football is still a four-quarter game.

The Hawkeyes were able to overcome a disastrous first half and come away with a 31-17 victory in the Cy-Hawk series, their first since 2013.

“Today’s victory is a rewarding end to a very difficult and challenging week for everybody,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “On top of that, an important chapter for our football team. I told them last night that they were going to have to earn this.”

The first half between the Hawks and the Cyclones had an incredibly upbeat and up-tempo feel to it, to say nothing of the disparity in terms of quality play between Iowa and Iowa State.

A couple of highlight-reel plays and a number of big drives on both sides of the ball had the 61,500 fans in attendance at the upgraded Jack Trice Stadium rocking from the game’s opening kickoff.

Unfortunately for Iowa, that fire-wagon pace led to a couple of costly mistakes and one devastating injury.

Junior defensive lineman Jaleel Johnson jumped offside on back-to-back possessions, and outside linebacker Ben Niemann negated what would have been a 20-yard interception return for Greg Mabin with a pass-interference call.

“It was a tale of two halves,” Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads said. “We played extremely well in the first half; we made a few plays. The second half, we didn’t, and they played extremely well, so congrats to them on that.”

Iowa simply had to be better than it was in the first half. The Hawks needed a spark, and quarterback C.J. Beathard gave them a flame.

The Tennessee native was the straw that stirred the drink for Iowa, improvising on a number of plays including a pair of huge runs that kept the drive from dying.

“We were backed up in our own end a lot that first half, so that’s the way it was,” Beathard said. “Those plays were good plays, well-designed, and the line did a good job blocking for me.”

He finished 15-of-25 with 3 touchdowns and 77 yards rushing (Beathard gained 111 but lost 34 behind the line of scrimmage).

“That’s part of playing the game; you just have to keep faith the whole way through,” Beathard said. “It was pretty frustrating for everyone in the early going there. It’s tough, but that’s part of football, you just have to keep chipping away.”

The first touchdown was an absolute bullet in the back left corner of the end zone to Tevaun Smith that evened things up at 10. The last, a similar play to Riley McCarron, who made a great double-move to get open, was a nail in Iowa State’s coffin late in the fourth quarter.

“We always say the next play in the most important one,” running back Jordan Canzeri said. “Doesn’t matter if you had a 50-yard gain or a negative-6 yard gain, the next one is all that matters.”

The loss of Ott, should it be significant, would be a huge blow to an Iowa team already lacking experience without the loss of perhaps its best down lineman.

But, as Ferentz has said time and again, you worry about that when it’s time.

The Hawks knew they would have to earn this win, and earn it they did. Right now, that’s all they’ve got time for.

“I can’t even describe the feeling,” Beathard said. “Walking off the field with that trophy is what you work for. There’s no better feeling.”

Follow @ryanarod on Twitter for news, updates, and analysis about the Iowa football team.