Iowa Hawkeyes' Kirk Ferentz Gives Perfect Response To Poor QB Play

Iowa Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz gave a perfect reply to a question about his team's struggling offense and poor quarterback play.

Sep 14, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz reacts with quarterback Cade McNamara (12) after a touchdown against the Troy Trojans during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes are a very talented football team, but they have one major issue: the quarterback position.

Iowa has not exactly gotten great production from under center this season. Cade McNamara has been a tremendous disappointment, throwing for 588 yards, three touchdowns and a couple of interceptions while completing 62.7 percent of his passes through four games.

This is nothing new for Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz, who has struggled to find good quarterback play in general over the years. As a matter of fact, last season, Iowa went scoreless in all three of its games against ranked opponents.

When pressed about the Hawkeyes' blowout losses to good teams, Ferentz offered a rather snarky—but perfect—response.

"Maybe we did a hell of a job winning 10 games," Ferentz said, via Chad Leistikow of The Des Moines Register.

Way to take a negative and spin it into a positive.

Iowa thought it was solving its problems at signal-caller when it landed McNamara—a Michigan Wolverines transfer—in December 2022.

However, McNamara tore his ACL five games into his debut campaign at Iowa City, and during his time on the field, he was unimpressive, totaling 505 yards, four touchdowns and three picks while completing a meager 51.1 percent of his throws.

The Hawkeyes were able to scrape together 10 wins last season thanks to the strength of their defense. They have been able to get off to a 3-1 start this year courtesy of their defense (once again( and a lethal rushing attack led by Kaleb Johnson.

We'll see if Iowa can overcome some shaky quarterback play again for the remainder of 2024.