At halftime in Kinnick Stadium, Iowa is leading Pittsburgh, 17-7.

By Danny Payne
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Well, this is fun. The night game has a great atmosphere, the crowd is good, and I’m enjoying myself. Here are some observations about the first half:

• Pitt’s defense is bringing the HEAT. This is a stereotypical Pat Narduzzi defense. C.J. Beathard has been hurried on a fair number of plays, and he also received medical attention on his left hip/leg area. It’s fair to say he’ll have lots of bumps and bruises after this one.
• The same goes for Jordan Canzeri. He’s taken a beating as well.
• Desmond King can ball. The junior had two picks in the first quarter. On the first, he won a jump ball over future first-round draft pick Tyler Boyd. The second, King picked off Nate Peterman in the end zone.
• This is awesome. Rod Oden was King’s high-school coach.

Somebody tell Pat Narduzzi to stop trying that kid, he didnt seriously recruit while at MSU. 2 INTs for Buddah in… http://t.co/UmyeCYSgX3

— Coach Rod Oden (@CoachRodOden) September 20, 2015

• Beathard had a very nice deep ball to Tevaun Smith for a gain of 51 yards that led to an Iowa touchdown.
• Offensively, Pitt doesn’t look very good. It looks to have gone with Nate Peterman at quarterback instead of Chad Voytik.
• Drew Ott and LeShun Daniels Jr. have both played, although it’s been sparingly.
• If you haven’t heard, Brett Greenwood was honored before the game. Lots of tears happened. You can watch the video below.

.@HawkeyeFootball fans already knew this, but Brett Greenwood is the man. What a great moment. http://t.co/QtwfWaUYLO

— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) September 20, 2015

• Iowa hasn’t been able to get much going in the running game. Outside of a 9-yard touchdown run for Beathard, the Hawks have 15 yards on 12 carries. The Panthers are forcing Beathard to make plays through the air, which he’s done a nice job of so far.
• James Daniels played a good number of snaps at left guard in the first half, particularly the first quarter. Not sure if that’s an injury thing or a matchup thing. Keep an eye on it.
• Below are the stats. We’ll have more as the game goes on, so be sure to follow us @dipregame, @dannyapayne, and @CharlsGreen.