The Iowa Hawkeyes struggled on offense a season ago, averaging just 15.7 points per game before firing offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.
Coach Kirk Ferentz, the father of Brian, then hired former Western Michigan Broncos coach Tim Lester to become the new offensive coordinator for Iowa. The Hawkeyes felt Lester brought a new style of offense to Iowa that would open up the field, however in their second game of the season, it has already hit a roadblock. Moving forward after the 20-19 loss to Iowa State, the Hawkeyes may need to make changes on the offensive side already.
Iowa Hawkeyes Offense Struggles Against Iowa State, Turns the Ball Over Twice
The Iowa Hawkeyes are 1-1 this season and officially out of the rankings after suffering a 20-19 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones. There is always more than one person to blame for a loss, as it is a team sport and not a solo sport. However, a lot of the blame seems to have been placed upon quarterback Cade McNamara for his subpar performance against the Cyclones.
McNamara just missed out on the 100-yard mark, recording 99 yards passing on 13 completions without recording a touchdown. The quarterback had two interceptions and took a sack, finishing the game with a quarterback rating of 9.7. McNamara struggled to do much of anything against the Cyclones’ defense with his longest completion going for 21 yards.
The quarterback struggled last season in limited play before going down with a difficult knee injury. McNamara had an adjusted quarterback rating of 31 last season during his limited play where he threw three interceptions. The quarterback had two interceptions during a 41-10 win over a rather disappointing Western Michigan Broncos defense.
Should the Iowa Football Staff Consider Benching Quarterback Cade McNamara?
As seen with other programs such as the SMU Mustangs, benching a big-name quarterback when they are struggling is a real possibility. No player is safe based solely on their past success of their star rating during their recruitment. However, these benching situations also only occur when they are warranted and necessary, which the Hawkeyes’ situation may not be.
In his four years as a starter, Cade McNamara has gone through four different offensive coordinators, which is a big change for a quarterback. Quarterbacks rely on their offensive coordinators to open up the offense and provide them with feedback to run the offense more efficiently. With four different coordinators, that is four different sets of ideals and play styles that have caused minor tweaks in the game of McNamara each time.
McNamara began with the Michigan Wolverines, who used a similar power run style offense, but also rarely tested defenses. The Hawkeyes have run the same style of offense but now look to open up and move the ball down the field through the air. Thus far, McNamara has struggled with his accuracy and struggled to connect on much of anything down the field.
The quarterback has begun the season with 350 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, with all three touchdowns coming against Illinois State. McNamara has a quarterback rating of 25.3 currently after missing 16 passes and averaging 3.4 yards per completion against the Iowa State Cyclones. If there was a time to possibly bench McNamara for his performance, it should not come at this point in the season.
The Iowa football team has games against Troy, Minnesota, and #3 Ohio State next on their schedule, and if Minnesota is able to beat the Hawkeyes, it then might be time to make a change.
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