Iowa is off this week, so there's no need to make a decision on a starting quarterback just yet. But when the Hawkeyes return to action on Oct. 11 against Indiana, they plan on playing more than one guy under center.

C.J. Beathard replaced an injured Jake Rudock (hip) two weeks ago at Pitt and sparked the team to a comeback win. Beathard wasn't quite as sharp last week at Purdue when Rudock was available only in an emergency, but the Hawkeyes still won. On Tuesday, Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis said Rudock is about 80 percent healthy and hopefully will be ready to go along with Beathard against the Hoosiers.

"We feel like we have two good quarterbacks, and we’ll look at it in these next 11 days and then we’ll go from there," Davis said. "What you can expect is that we’ll probably play two with no set series, numbers or whatever. But we do feel like we have two guys that have earned the right to play and have played pretty well. So that’s the way we’ll approach it as we get closer."

Davis said there won't be set packages or straight split between the quarterbacks.

"Part of it will be a feel," he said, adding that Iowa would likely go with the hot hand in a particular game.

A lot depends on how Rudock bounces back from his injury. He started every game last year for the Hawkeyes and has thrown for 798 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 66.9 percent of his throws this season. Beathard has completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 363 yards with one touchdown and an interception in three games. Iowa's downfield throwing game seemed to improve with Beathard in, while Rudock is a steady hand with good wheels.

We'll have to see how this plays out and whether Iowa can turn the situation into an advantage or finds itself dealing with a full-blown quarterback controversy.