Sept. 20, 2014
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By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
PITTSBURGH — It didn’t feel like the sun was shining on the University of Iowa football team in the first half of Saturday’s nonconference game against the University of Pittsburgh.
But as former UI head coach Hayden Fry was fond of repeating, the sun doesn’t shine on the same dog’s rump all the time.
The Hawkeyes unveiled a ray of sunshine in the form of C.J. “Sunshine” Beathard during a 24-20 comeback victory over previously unbeaten Panthers.
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As movie goers know, Sunshine is a nickname given to quarterback Ronnie Bass in “Remember the Titans.” There are similarities between Bass and Beathard, a UI sophomore. Both play quarterback and both have long, golden locks of hair.
On Saturday, the Hawkeyes’ Sunshine heated Heinz Field to the tune of completing 7-of-8 passes for 98 yards and a long completion of 62 yards to Damond Powell.
“All the guys were supportive of me,” said Beathard, who relieved injured starter Jake Rudock in the second half. “They said, `Let’s go, we’ve got this’ and that I had to lead them. They look up to me in that situation and that’s what I did.”
When Beathard entered the game, Iowa trailed 17-7 and had the ball on its own 6-yard line. Seven plays and 94 yards later, the Hawkeyes scored their second touchdown of the game and cut Pitt’s lead to 17-14.
That drive was followed by an eight-play, 39-yard scoring series that ended with a career-long 52-yard field goal by Marshall Koehn.
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In the first half Iowa took 22 snaps (five in the second quarter), compared to 40 for Pitt. The Panthers held an 8:28 advantage in possession time. In the second half, Iowa ran 31 plays (Pitt had 32) and controlled the clock for 16:13 (2:36 more than the Panthers).
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Beathard made it 3-for-3 on scoring drives — this one gave Iowa its first and decisive lead — in the fourth quarter. It covered 52 yards, but lasted 13 plays and devoured 7:47 of clock. Beathard was 4-for-4 passing on the drive that began with a pass interference call.
“We got it picked up in the second half for sure,” Beathard said. “A lot of that had to do with the guys’ mentality in the locker room. We knew that we weren’t going to lose this game. We had a whole half to play, and we were going to pick it up from there.”
In the first half Iowa took 22 snaps (five in the second quarter), compared to 40 for Pitt. The Panthers held an 8:28 advantage in possession time. In the second half, Iowa ran 31 plays (Pitt had 32) and controlled the clock for 16:13 (2:36 more than the Panthers).
“We had 30 minutes of ball to play, and we were going to play like it was 0-0,” Beathard said. “We knew what we had to do, no one was down. We had confidence in ourselves, and we showed it in the second half.”
Not only did the Hawkeyes score the final 10 points, but they outscored Pitt, 17-3, in the second half to improve to 3-1 overall. It was the first loss in four games for the Panthers, who won their only other game at Heinz Field by 62 points and won by 10 at Boston College.
Beathard got his shot when Rudock was dinged up late in the first half. In the locker room at the break, UI offensive coordinator Greg Davis delivered the news to Beathard.
“I was shocked, excited, and nervous at the same time,” Beathard said. “It is a mixture of emotions, then you settle down.”
Beathard isn’t an unproven understudy. He saw action in five games as a redshirt freshman in 2013, including considerable time during a 38-17 win at Nebraska and during a 21-14 loss against Louisiana State University in the Outback Bowl.
For the first half Saturday he was wearing a headset, listening to comments from the coaching staff, which is typically the norm for him during games.
“You have to prepare each week and practice like you’re the guy,” Beathard said. “You never know when your time is going to come.”
He made the most of his opportunity in Pittsburgh.
As for the nickname Sunshine?
“I love that movie and yeah, I like (the character Ronnie Bass),” Beathard said. “I don’t care if people call me that, it’s not a big deal to me.”
