At this point, it sounds like a broken record, but here we are again talking about Iowa's offense and how it needs to pick it up if Iowa wants a chance at a conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Iowa offense gave fans false hope in the second half against Illinois State when they scored 36 points against the Redhawks and quarterback Cade McNamara was looking like a true power conference quarterback. However, fans came crashing back down to Earth when the Hawkeyes played Iowa State and only put 13 points on the board in the first half and six points in the second half.
In the second half against Illinois State, McNamara moved the ball with ease and made low-percentage throws that surprised everyone. All he needed to do was come out against Iowa State, which yes is a tougher defense than Illinois State, and just show that poise and confidence.
Instead, McNamara came out and looked panicked, made rushed throws, and wasn't able to scramble out of pressure. This isn't all McNamara's fault though, he does not have the best line in front of him keeping him clean and giving him time to make good throws.
The running back group and surprisingly the wide receiver group have shown good things in the first two weeks, especially the running backs. Kaleb Johnson broke out against the Cyclones and was the lone performer for the Hawkeyes. Johnson had 187 rushing yards on 25 touchdowns and scored the only two touchdowns for the Hawkeyes against Iowa State.
The biggest improvement that needs to happen on this Iowa offense is the offensive line. As we saw against Illinois State, when McNamara has time, and the wide receivers have time to run their routes, the offense can be successful.
It might be time to start working new guys in and giving them a chance to make plays. If something isn't working, might have to change it, and that goes for the whole offense. If McNamara continues to struggle the way he did in the first half against Illinois State and against Iowa State, let Brendan Sullivan go in and show what he can do.
The game against Troy might be the best opportunity for this offense to get on track, and maybe a time to get young guys to show what they can do. If this Hawkeyes offense can't get on track against Troy, they are going to struggle even more once they hit Big Ten play.