Kirk Ferentz finally stopped being so stubborn today when Iowa was playing Northwestern and benched starting quarterback Cade McNamara in favor of backup Brendan Sullivan. However, when Ferentz spoke to the media after the game, he said Sullivan going into the game was planned all along.
"We made the decision during the week we were going to rotate Brendan in a little bit on the third or fourth series," Ferentz said in his post-game press conference. "It just worked out that way; he did a really nice job."
While that all makes sense, if he was planning just to get a look at Sullivan, why did he stay in the rest of the game? Sullivan had three straight three-and-outs when he entered the game. Normally, that would not be ideal when putting a backup in, and a coach would go back to the starter. Ferentz never went back to McNamara which in turn would mean he benched him.
"I don't know about 'we 'sent him to the bench?'" Ferentz said. "This was preplanned, we communicate with everybody, especially the parties involved, just what our plan was and why."
Granted, Ferentz did say that McNamara was a little banged up after taking the big hit on the overturned interception in the first quarter, but he continued to play after that. McNamara has proved in almost every game this season that he just doesn't have what it takes to lead this team to a winning record, so as much as Ferentz wants to say he wasn't benched, he definitely was.
Ferentz was very happy with Sullivan's performance against his former team. The junior quarterback transferred to Iowa in the spring but didn't actually get on campus until June, so he had to play catch up a lot over the summer. However, when given the chance, Sullivan made the most of it.
"Happy with the way he stepped in, played with great poise, didn't think about it too much," Ferentz said. "Playing against his former team, you always worry about emotions a little bit, didn't worry too much about it, didn't seem to be a factor either."
Last season, Sullivan was on the losing side of this game on the Northwestern sideline, but this time he was on the winning side of the game on the Iowa sideline and it was because of his great play in at quarterback.