BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- It was the leaping Iowa Hawkeyes who improved to 9-0 on Saturday against Indiana.

Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard had to leap for a late first half touchdown from about four yards and tight end George Kittle duplicated that feat late in the game as No. 9 Iowa held on to beat Indiana 35-27 before 44,739 at Memorial Stadium.

The victory allowed Iowa (9-0, 5-0 in the Big Ten) to open the season with nine wins in a row for the second time in history. The Hawkeyes also won their first nine games in 2009.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said all of the credit for the 9-0 start goes to his players.

“There are a lot of opportunities to lose during the course of the year, just like the last time we were 9-0,’’ Ferentz said. “But the credit goes to our players. They find a way to get it done week in and week out.’’

Indiana (4-5, 0-5) lost its fifth game in a row. The Hoosiers need to win two of their final three games to become bowl eligible. IU has a home game with Michigan next week followed by back-to-back road games at Maryland and Purdue.

“To me we have too much evidence of being too good week after week against a lot of good teams and we have good players playing good football,’’ said Indiana coach Kevin Wilson. “I’m proud of our football team and the way they continue to fight.’’

Akrum Wadley rushed for 120 yards and a score, and Leshun Daniels had 78 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa. Beathard completed 19-of-31 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown.

Beathard, who is now 10-0 in his career as Iowa’s starting quarterback, made plays both through the air and on the ground. He rushed for 38 yards, including an 11-yard scamper in the final two minutes as the Hawkeyes were trying to kill the clock.

“I was feeling pretty good,’’ said Beathard, who had been slowed by a groin and hip injury suffered last week against Maryland. “The training staff, the medical staff, has done a pretty good job working with me all week and trying to get me healthy. I’m not a hundred percent but when the adrenalin is going it felt pretty good.

“That last run the coaches were iffy wondering if I could get out there and get the first down. I told them I could and I felt really good.’’

He also made some drive saving plays with his arm. Three times he was able to convert third down situations of more than nine yards to go. Iowa was 7-of-14 on third down.

And then there was his leap.

“It was a good call by the coaches, it was a quarterback draw,’’ Beathard said. “I was just trying to do anything I could do to get it in the end zone. I felt like the only way I could do that was by jumping over the top.’’

The seven-yard touchdown run that included the leap for the final four yards came with 17 seconds to play in the half and gave the Hawkeyes a 21-17 advantage.

Indiana closed the gap to 21-20 early in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Griffin Oakes, but that would be as close as the Hoosiers would get.

Daniels scored on a one-yard run with 10:07 left in the game and then Kittle scored his 10-yard touchdown on a pass from Beathard to make it 35-20.

Indiana picked up a touchdown on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Nate Sudfeld to tight end Michael Cooper with 2:24 to play. It was the 49th touchdown pass of Sudfeld's career, setting an Indiana record.

Jordan Howard rushed for 174 yards on 22 carries and had touchdown runs of 37 and 29 yards to keep Indiana close in the first half. It was Howard's second game back after missing two games because of an ankle injury.

NOTES: Iowa had a balanced attack against the Hoosiers. The Hawkeyes ran for 234 yards and passed for 233. Iowa junior defensive back Desmond King led the Big Ten and was tied for the NCAA lead with seven interceptions coming into the game. He got his eighth pick late in the game.That tied the Iowa record set by Nike Kinnick in 1939 and tied by Lou King in 1981.