When Jon Beutjer stepped onto the field late in Saturday’s game, it was an emotional moment for which the sixth-year senior had plenty of time to prepare.

Beutjer, who was a backup quarterback for Iowa in 2000 before transferring to Illinois, heard his old nickname called between plays. He saw a handful of his former teammates on the sidelines and on the field. And he felt his heart pound.

“It was pretty emotional for me to go out there,” Beutjer said. “My adrenaline was definitely pumping.”

Beutjer missed the Illini’s last encounter with the Hawkeyes, sitting out the end of the 2003 season with an injured back. Prior to that, Illinois had not faced Iowa in Beutjer’s time here.

Beutjer has had a rocky season, dropping from the starting quarterback to off the depth chart. Saturday, he showed he can still lead the team, completing 12-of-25 passes for 129 yards – two more completions and 48 more yards than starting quarterback Brad Bower tallied in the first three quarters.

“It felt good to be out there and play again,” Beutjer said. “Any time you get to go out there and compete in this game that I love and all these guys love, it’s just a great time.”

But Beutjer’s performance has not been enough to carry him back up to the team’s top spot.

“Right now Brad is our starter,” said Illinois head coach Ron Turner. “We still have a lot of confidence in him and we think he can play.”

Iowa Injuries

The game abruptly stopped with a timeout in the first quarter, as Iowa fullback Aaron Mickens received a helmet to the neck. An ambulance was called onto the field, and Mickens was taken to the hospital with a mild concussion and back pain.

Another Hawkeye was hurt in the game: fullback Champ Davis might have torn his ACL.

Mickens and Davis are the fifth and sixth Iowa tailbacks in eight games to be lost due to season-ending injuries. But that’s not stopping the team, which sealed a bowl game bid Saturday.

“Nobody’s moping around about injuries or moping around about this and that,” said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz. “We’re the kind of team that toughs things out, which is great. That’s OK; the guys are really playing hard.”

Wind a double-edged sword

Wind gusts up to 40 mph made the game tougher for both teams, as passes floated away from intended receivers or dropped far short of their targets.

“It’s definitely much tougher to throw into that wind,” Bower said. “When I was out there in warm-ups, the ball was getting knocked down. Even on one of those flat routes I had to (Mark) Kornfeld, the ball got knocked down. I was throwing right to him and I thought it was going to be a good pass, then all of a sudden it just, boom, hit the ground.”

But the Illini are not blaming the weather for their inability to put enough numbers on the board.

“We know it’s always windy in Champaign, but both teams have to play with the wind,” Beutjer said. “It’s not like we go out there and it’s windy, then Iowa goes out there and there’s no wind for them.”

The wind was an occasional asset, as punter Steve Weatherford kicked a 79-yard punt to end the first quarter. It was the longest punt of his career, flying 13 yards farther than his previous best of 66 yards.

Weatherford’s next punt made it 23 yards.

Quote of the game:

“It was just a good finish. Last time we played Michigan, at the end of the game we got down there and didn’t finish and threw an interception, so it was very important for us to finish and get that touchdown. (I was) just giving glory to God. He’s the reason why I’m here, he’s the reason why all of us are here, so usually when I throw a touchdown pass I try to give him glory.”

– Jon Beutjer on pointing to the sky after throwing a touchdown pass with 49 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.