Iowa Hawkeyes Still Have A Major Quarterback Issue

The Iowa Hawkeyes still have a quarterback issue despite their dominant win over Washington.

Oct 12, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Cade McNamara (12) throws a pass against the Washington Huskies during the first quarter at Kinnick Stadium. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Cade McNamara and the Iowa Hawkeyes were able to dominate the Washington Huskies by a final score of 40-16 this afternoon.

After losing badly to the Ohio State Buckeyes last week, this kind of performance was much needed. Iowa is back in the win column and they looked very good while doing it.

While the defense played at an elite level and Kaleb Johnson put together another monster performance, there is still a glaring issue for the Hawkeyes moving forward.

Even with such a big win, starting quarterback Cade McNamara did not produce much. It has become clear that head coach Kirk Ferentz is going to stick with his starter, even while knowing that he can't throw the football.

When everything was said and done against Washington, McNamara completed eight of his 14 pass attempts for 108 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

That kind of a performance does not give much confidence for the Iowa offense. Granted, Johnson had it going on the ground and they run their offense through him. However, McNamara has produced so many of these subpar performances that it's clear he can't step his game up even when needed.

It's wild to think that a two touchdown performance actually looked bad. Unfortunately, it was clear that the team knows they can't throw the football, so they're continually diminishing how much they try.

Ferentz and company have to figure something out. They moved to 4-2 with the win over the Huskies, but they're not going to beat really good teams without a passing game.

Just like the Hawkeyes found out last week against Ohio State, good defenses can shut down the running game without the threat of being hurt through the air.

At this point in time, there's not a ton that Iowa can do. Brendan Sullivan is the next best quarterback option, which could potentially be an upgrade. However, he's not an elite quarterback either.

Iowa will take the win this week, but if McNamara continues to produce such small numbers, Ferentz and the coaching staff should at least consider a quarterback change to see if the aerial attack can improve even slightly.

McNamara simply isn't getting the job done. Thankfully, the Hawkeyes have a superstar running back in Johnson that can hide just how bad the quarterback play has been.