There was a lot of excitement when quarterback Cade McNamara transferred from Michigan to Iowa, especially with the type of production that he had with the Wolverines. Iowa fans were hoping to have a guy who could finally bring some life back into the Hawkeyes offense. Ever since McNamara has hit the field in an Iowa offense, though, he looked like a far cry from his first year at Michigan.
Fans have been calling for head coach Kirk Ferentz to bench McNamara all season long, but the longtime Iowa coach has refused to do so and is continuing to back his quarterback. However, fans are puzzled by his latest reason for sticking with McNamara behind center.
"It's easier to talk about putting somebody in a game than just doing it, especially at ," Ferentz said in his Tuesday press conference. "We've seen enough good things out of Cade to feel like he gives us our best chance out there."
While Ferentz is right, it seems a lot easier for us fans to just bench a guy than it is for the coaching staff, the fact that he says he has seen enough from McNamara to continue starting him is what is puzzling.
McNamara has continued to put out lackluster performance after the lackluster performance this season, with only four games where he threw for over 100 yards and only one game where he has thrown for over 200 yards. He has just six passing touchdowns, throwing them in just three games this season, and has eight interceptions, and has thrown at least one in six out of the Hawkeye's eight games.
The question now is: Is Brendan Sullivan looking that bad in practice, or is Ferentz just too stubborn to make the change?
Obviously, Ferentz is not going to trash McNamara in front of the media, and he has admitted that he needs to play better with the way he has played up to this point in the season, how can you not make a change simply to see what could happen? Ferentz is never going to know how Sullivan plays in a game until he gives him more than a couple of plays on the goal line in the game.
Going forward, Ferentz is going to continue to make himself an enemy of the Iowa fans if he isn't willing to make a change soon. At this point, the Hawkeyes are only playing for a bowl game, and it is time to start prepping for the future, one that won't involve McNamara. Throw Sullivan in there and see what can happen.