IOWA CITY, Iowa – It wasn’t as easy as some probably expected, but the Iowa football team ventured into uncharted territory on Saturday and came away with another historic victory at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa defeated a gritty Purdue squad 40-20 to clinch its first Big Ten West Division title, while also improving to 11-0 for the first time ever.

Junior quarterback C.J. Beathard passed for 213 yards and three touchdowns while improving his record to 12-0 as Iowa’s starting quarterback. Beathard also started in Iowa’s 24-10 victory at Purdue last season.

"I’m really proud of our football team," said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. "They worked hard, competed hard and fought out there. We knew this would be a tough ball game, another conference game. And one thing about this team, they’ve done a great job of responding to challenges week in and week out and all season long. It’s just kind of been the nature of things. And today, we had more of those to face."

Saturday’s victory came a week after Iowa defeated Minnesota 40-35 to improve to 10-0 for the time in school history. Iowa’s previous best start before this season was 9-0 in 2009.

Iowa appeared on the verge of turning Saturday’s game into a rout when it bolted to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter.

However, the Boilermakers responded by scoring consecutive 10 points in the final 4 minutes of the second quarter, trimming the lead to 20-10 at halftime.

The momentum stayed with Purdue after halftime as it forced Iowa to punt after running just three plays on the opening drive of the third quarter. Beathard was sacked for a 7-yard loss on third down.

Purdue then marched to the Iowa 6-yard line, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Paul Griggs that cut the deficit to 20-13 with 10:26 left in the third quarter.

Iowa’s next offensive possession also fizzled as Beathard was sacked again, this time for an 8-yard loss on third down.

Purdue took over at its own 36-yard line with a chance to tie the score. However, the drive stalled, forcing the Boilermakers to punt. Iowa caught a break when Purdue receiver DeAngelo Yancey dropped a pass over the middle on third down.

Iowa took over on offense at its own 9-yard line with 7:05 left in the third quarter and with the fans getting antsy.

The fans finally had something to cheer about when Beathard completed a 15-yard pass to tight end Henry Krieger Coble on first down. Beathard then completed a 14-yard pass to tight end George Kittle on the very next play, giving Iowa a first down at its own 38.

Purdue was called for pass interference on the next play, giving Iowa a first down at the Boilermaker 47.

Faced with a 3rd-and-10, Beathard scrambled for 11 yards before sliding for a first down at the Purdue 36.

He then capped a 91-yard scoring drive by throwing a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kittle with 3:20 left in the third quarter. Kittle delayed at the line of scrimmage before slipping past the Purdue defenders. Kittle was wide open over the middle when Beathard floated a pass to him.

Purdue was lined up to punt on its next possession, but instead ran a reverse on fourth down that gained a first down to the Iowa 35. The Boilermakers drove to the Iowa 20-yard line, but failed to convert on fourth down when quarterback Austin Appleby’s pass fell incomplete.

Iowa took over on offense with a chance to go up by three scores. Beathard scrambled for 11 yards on 3rd-and 10 before stepping out of bounds at the Iowa 42.

Senior running back Jordan Canzeri then scampered for 25 yards on the next play to the Purdue 33. The Boilermakers were penalized for pass interference on second down, giving Iowa a first down at the Purdue 22.

Beathard then faked a handoff to LeShun Daniels and turned back to his before completing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Krieger Coble with 8:40 left to play. However, Koehn missed the point-after kick, keeping the score at 33-13.

Purdue drove 75 yards for a touchdown on its next possession, slicing the lead to 33-20 with 4:46 left to play.

The Boilermakers attempted an onside kick, but Krieger Coble recovered the ball at the Purdue 48 with 4:44 left to play.

Iowa scored its sixth touchdown of the game when Canzeri broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run with 2:12 left to play.

Purdue ran 84 plays and finished with 405 total yards, including 268 passing yards. Appleby replaced injured starter David Blough at quarterback in the first quarter and threw for 259 yards and one touchdown.

Iowa led 14-0 after the first quarter and scored touchdowns on its first three possessions of the game.

Purdue took the opening kick, but ran just three plays before having to punt. Iowa took over at its 26 and then marched 11 plays for a touchdown, which came on a 2-yard run by Daniels with 8:54 left in the first quarter.

Beathard completed 3-of-4 passes on the drive for 52 yards.

Purdue also failed to get a first down on its next offensive possession before having to punt. Iowa took over the Purdue 49 and only needed five plays to score its next touchdown on a 13-run by Daniels with 4:32 left in the first quarter.

Receiver Matt VandeBerg sparked the drive by gaining 15 yards on a reverse to the Purdue 32. Senior receiver Tevaun Smith also gained 15 yards on a reception on the play before Daniels scored his second touchdown.

Iowa expanded the lead to 20-0 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Beathard to Matt VandeBerg with 13:40 left in the second quarter. However, Koehn’s point-after kick was blocked.

Iowa started its next drive at its own 1-yard line, but was forced to punt after failing to get a first down.

The Boilermakers took over at the Iowa 47-yard line and then drove for a touchdown on 11 plays. The touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Markell Jones with 3:55 left in the second quarter.

Griggs converted the point-after kick, trimming Iowa’s lead to 20-7.

Iowa was driving near midfield when Beathard fumbled after being hit on a play in which he had gained six yards on a quarterback draw. Purdue recovered the fumble on its own 49 yard line with 2:03 left in the second quarter.

The Boilermakers drove to the Iowa 3, but settled for a 20-yard field goal by Griggs that sliced Iowa’s lead in half at 20-10 with 25 seconds left before halftime.