With college football’s first full slate of games underway on Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes hosted the Illinois State Redbirds to open their 2024 season. Following an uneventful first two quarters, Iowa heads into the locker room nursing a 6-0 lead. The 25th-ranked team in the country, the Hawkeyes, posted just 147 total yards in the first half, explicitly struggling in the passing game.
This offseason, the Iowa Hawkeyes hired former Green Bay Packers assistant coach Tim Lester as their new offensive coordinator following a disastrous 2023 season. However, Iowa has done little to improve its offense this summer, with college football fans clowning the program for their poor performance in the season opener.
College Football Fans Chrip Iowa Hawkeyes Offense For Brutal First Half
According to Ross Dellenger:
Iowa’s new-look offense so far:
3 plays, 4 yards – punt
3 plays, 5 yards – punt
4 plays, 6 yards – field goal
6 plays, 16 yards – punt
7 plays, 30 yards – turnover
6 plays, 17 yards – punt
In Iowa’s final drive of the first half, the Hawkeyes went 49 yards in 11 plays, resulting in a 28-yard field goal. Last season, Iowa scored a disastrous 15.4 points per game, the second-lowest average in the FBS. The year prior, the Hawkeyes scored 17.7 points per game, the 123rd-best mark in the country. Brian Ferentz, the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, operated as the offensive coordinator during that span, but the program did not retain his services heading into this fall.
Despite the change at play-caller, the Iowa Hawkeyes offensive struggles have leaked into this season, with quarterback Cade McNamara struggling mightily against Illinois State. After two quarters, the signal-caller is 8-of-17 for 74 yards. Illinois State last played an FBS school in 2022, allowing 38 points to the Wisconsin Badgers. College football fans were quick to jump on the “new look” Iowa offense following a brutal showing in the first half:
iowa cannot be a real football team im convinced
— carlo (@dxcarIo) August 31, 2024
Ranked for no reason lol
— Red Raider Man🌵 (@redraiderman1) August 31, 2024
The 2024 Iowa football season. pic.twitter.com/pW7B6lecfv
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) August 31, 2024
Iowa throwing short on 3rd & 9 pic.twitter.com/XetaDS89bG
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) August 31, 2024
https://twitter.com/WiseLending/status/1829932417584365931
Iowa football is SO back 😂 pic.twitter.com/4RY42uMtO6
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) August 31, 2024
The Iowa offense summed up in one play
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 31, 2024
https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/1829917825865339080
Watching Iowa’s reimagined offense pic.twitter.com/SJg7eMTxea
— Ramzy Nasrallah (@ramzy) August 31, 2024
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Chris
But the second half looked as bad as the first huh? Go HAWKS!!!