IOWA CITY Following a disastrous start to the 2023 season for Cade McNamara, Iowa will probably have to play the remainder of the Big Ten schedule without their signal-caller, win or lose.
McNamara scrambled out of the pocket as Iowa backed up to its own 2-yard line with 8:11 remaining in the first quarter. Akin to his August Open Scrimmage injury, McNamara fell down without making contact when his surgically repaired left knee snapped during an attempted juke.
Regarding McNamara’s status, head coach Kirk Ferentz responded, “I don’t want to speculate,” following the game on Saturday. “Any player who gets hurt is unfortunate, but in his case, it’s really difficult.”
McNamara was officially declared out of the game with what was only described as a lower leg injury in the second half. According to Ferentz, details won’t be available until early next week. Everyone in Kinnick Stadium, however, knew immediately that McNamara’s day — and quite possibly his season — was over after he was brought off the field with no weight on his leg.
One of the first players to speak with McNamara after he was wheeled off the field was longtime comrade Erick All.
At halftime, I saw him returning to the training room,” All remarked. “I just loved on him, told him I had his back and was praying for him, and just to keep his head up and keep fighting.”
Following the game, Ferentz refused to describe McNamara’s emotional state. “You can probably figure that one out yourself,” he replied.
Given the seriousness of the situation, backup quarterback Deacon Hill stepped up and did a great job, even though his stats were unremarkable at 11/27, 115 yards, a score, and an interception. Indeed, he has achieved a comeback victory; but, the game-winning score was achieved by special teams.
“I’m impressed with how Deacon stepped in,” Ferentz remarked on Saturday night following the game. “He really did a good job leading our football team and making good decisions, especially in the second half in some critical situations.”
Let’s take a cold shower now: McNamara’s injury makes it impossible to conclude otherwise than that Iowa’s season prospects have changed.
Hill finished far behind in the quarterback race despite playing the majority of the summer reps with the 1s, and his deficiencies were clearly visible during the game. Hill’s accuracy was erratic, and he was probably fortunate to leave the game with just one interception. Hill didn’t get many favors from his receivers—five of the team’s six drops came on throws from Hill.
“[Hill] made some good throws, and had some other ones we can probably improve on,” Ferentz stated. “However, I felt he performed admirably for his first time, in
Even still, no matter how pyrrhic the victory, there are only columns for wins and losses, and Iowa prevailed in the face of adversity that many other teams would (and frequently do) fall under.”It just speaks to the resilience of this team,” Hill stated. We’re a pretty formidable group. We fight all the time, till the very last minute.”
