COLUMBUS, Ohio — Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz made his view of the quarterback position pretty clear after Saturday’s 35-7 loss at Ohio State.
No, the Hawkeyes are not headed for a change at quarterback, Ferentz said.
“We’re not ready, I think, to have a controversy at that position,” the longtime head coach said.
The loss to Ohio State again illustrated the gap between Iowa and national powerhouses. The Hawkeyes haven’t beaten one of the three giants of the Big Ten — Penn State, Michigan or Ohio State — since a 2021 win over the Nittany Lions. Against ranked opponents last season, Iowa was beaten a combined 92-0.
Perhaps you could point to the fact that Iowa at least scored on Saturday as progress. But in reality, Saturday’s margin was similar to those three games last season.
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The quarterback position wasn’t good enough on Saturday. Cade McNamara finished the game 14-of-20 passing for 98 yards and three turnovers — two fumbles and one interception. Just like the game itself, the quarterback play fit an old, tired narrative.
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To be clear, quarterback production was not the only deficient area on Saturday. The Hawkeyes were beaten in the trenches — on both sides of the ball — and outgained 203-116 on the ground. Iowa’s defense also gave up four touchdowns through the air.
After Iowa trailed just 7-0 at the break, it got ugly in the second half. Ohio State is a legitimate national championship threat, and the Hawkeyes didn’t do much in the third and fourth quarters to show they could compete at that level.
“The bottom line is, you’ve got to play clean football against a team like this,” Ferentz said. “We weren’t able to do that. They get some credit on that, too.”
Since the 2019 departure of Nate Stanley, Iowa’s quarterback struggles have been no secret. Whether it be Spencer Petras or Alex Padilla or Deacon Hill, Iowa hasn’t gotten necessary production from that position. There was optimism that McNamara, once a prized transfer from Michigan, would be the solution.
Through the first 10 games of his Iowa career, McNamara has fallen short of that.
The lowest bar for McNamara to clear as Iowa’s quarterback — taking care of the ball — is something he was unable to do on Saturday.
McNamara’s turnovers came on three consecutive possessions to open the second half, all but erasing any first-half hope that Iowa had managed to build.
Because Iowa lives in such thin margins, avoiding turnovers is paramount, even more so against a team like Ohio State. The lack of ball security was a reason the quarterback position was such a disaster at Iowa last season. Hill finished the season with a ratio of eight interceptions to five passing touchdowns.
McNamara’s touchdown pass-to-interception ratio this season is now 3-to-3. He was without a turnover against Illinois State, Troy and Minnesota, but coughing up the ball proved costly against Iowa State and Ohio State. An early second-half turnover against Iowa State this season gave the Cyclones life. Three against Ohio State on Saturday shut the door on a possible upset.
“We evaluate every position week to week,” Ferentz said about quarterback. “But we’re comfortable. I think Cade’s improving. I really do. It sounds funny with the turnovers today, I think he seems more comfortable. His timing seems better. And he was getting the ball out really well in the first half. We have to improve as a collective offense.”
It might go against popular opinion but to Ferentz’s point, McNamara started Saturday’s contest well, completing 10 of his first 12 passes. There is, however, a gaping hole in that argument.
Completion efficiency is not McNamara’s biggest issue. In fact, in the last two games — against Minnesota and Ohio State — he was a combined 25-of-39, marking major improvement from a putrid 13-of-29 outing against Iowa State.
But that extremely efficient stretch against Ohio State matters less if it amounts to zero points and also means turning the ball over three times later on.
In his Iowa career, McNamara has not yet thrown a touchdown against a power conference opponent (granted, a redzone package with backup Brendan Sullivan was implemented earlier this season, making it more difficult for McNamara to do so). But more troubling than the lack of touchdowns are the fact that all three of his interceptions this season have come against power conference opponents (one was a last ditch heave against Iowa State). You can also add the two fumbles against Ohio State to that turnover tally.
Iowa didn’t get McNamara just to beat up on lower level programs. When the competition level rises, he needs to do so with it.
“We just can’t turn the ball over,” McNamara said Saturday. “We had three drives in a row with turnovers. That just can’t happen. They just came out in the second half and they played well. They’re are a good defense and they’re a good team.”
You can argue ad nauseam against Ferentz’s assertion that McNamara is improving. But bottom line is, the fact that this is even a discussion is a problem. It was reasonable to think that McNamara would’ve been better than this through five games.
Iowa doesn’t need its quarterback to be prolific. Running back Kaleb Johnson solves a lot for the offense with the way he’s been playing. Iowa just needs McNamara to take care of the ball and make defenses pay on occasion when the chance presents itself.
In critical moments, that hasn’t been the case.
Through the first 10 games of his Iowa career — split between 2023 and 2024 due to injury — McNamara hasn’t done much to validate the excitement that once surrounded him. Ferentz has preached patience for someone who has been out for an extended period — on multiple occasions. That faith in him could still bear results.
But time is becoming of the essence for McNamara to change the narrative.
Said Ferentz: “Cade will be fine.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
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