IOWA CITY — Take a look at the scoresheet and you'll see a perfectly fine day for Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara: 17-30, 191 yards and a pair of first-quarter touchdowns in the Hawkeyes' 24-14 win over Utah State to open the 2023 season.
What his performance meant, though — to himself, his teammates and the Iowa fanbase as a whole — showed up in places more important than on paper.
"I was so excited (to play again), McNamara said after the game. "I was feeling it even in pregame when the student section's already full and we're bouncing around, we're getting fired up, and we're just warming up."
"[McNamara] is not only a great leader, he's one of my good friends too," said center Logan Jones. "He really loves the offensive line and everybody out there. Cade's a good dude and I love playing with him."
McNamara's status for Week 1 had been in question since suffering a strained quadriceps on a non-contact injury during the Kids Day open practice at Kinnick Stadium three weeks prior. Though McNamara returned to practice in a limited capacity a week before the season started, he still wasn't cleared to play Week 1 as recently as Tuesday and was still listed as questionable on the official active/inactive list.
"It was pretty clear [McNamara] was intent on playing," said Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz.
"I knew I wasn't going to be 100% going into this game, and there were a couple awkward positions I was put in today," McNamara said. "I think the o-line did a really good job of protecting me today; a lot of those plays, I was getting into my second hitch and nobody was within three yards of me."
Still, Ferentz had been consistent about wanting to have McNamara on the field if he could go, and the longtime Hawkeye head coach got his wish when McNamara started the game under center — and fired a 36-yard touchdown to sophomore receiver Seth Anderson on the second play of the game, marking the first time in the Ferentz Era (and since 1991) that Iowa recorded a passing touchdown on its first drive of the season.
"We had the exact look we wanted," McNamara said of the play call to hit Anderson deep. "I was kind of surprised that we called that play that early, but I was so fired up to be able to hit that and Seth made a great play on it."
"When it was called I was like, 'it's a touchdown,'" Anderson said after the game. "I got inside of [the defender], faked the out and went back up. I felt him fall behind me, so it should be going to me."
Not that Ferentz had the mild ignominy of that 33-year streak in mind calling the play.
"We're just trying to score," Ferentz said. "I'm glad it worked that way, but yeah, I didn't know that."
McNamara's limitations were evident at times in the win; his first scramble netted only a yard, and he passed on multiple opportunities to break out of wide-open holes in the pocket when pressured.
In particular, after spinning out of a sack attempt and throwing the ball away late in the third quarter, McNamara came up favoring his quad, prompting backup Deacon Hill to begin warming up during an ensuing timeout.
"That was kind of a difficult move; spin-moving with a guy on you when you're not 100% is tough," McNamara said. "There are times when I'm going to have to work a little harder, put my body in certain positions. It's just part of the healing process that when you have a soft tissue injury, you've gotta battle through these things."
McNamara stayed in the game after that play, though, and led the Hawkeyes to a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that pushed the lead to a more manageable 24-6 with 10:17 remaining to play.
That last score helped Ferentz make the call to give McNamara the rest of the day off, especially on a scorching-hot day when even healthier contributors like Xavier Nwankpa and Leshon Williams were succumbing to heat issues. It is still summer, after all.
"Not that we had the game in hand, but we felt good about things a little bit," Ferentz said. "We wanted to get him out and give him a chance to regroup a little bit and hopefully not set himself back."
Still, while 24 points for the offense was enough to secure a relatively stress-free win, it fell short of satisfying many fans — to say nothing of certain contractual obligations.
McNamara shared that frustration after the game.
"Overall, I think we left a lot out there, to be honest," McNamara said. "I'm kind of excited that we were able to see adversity for the first time; I didn't want it to be a cakewalk and for us to just see a bunch of success. It's important for us as a new group that's trying to connect even more in game situations to have to deal with things like that."
But if there's been one consistent message from Ferentz — one overriding aspect of his philosophy through his 24 years stalking the Kinnick sideline — it's that a win is a win is a win, points be damned (style and otherwise). And true to form, Iowa's now 1-0 and moving on to its first hostile environment of the season at Iowa State.
"It's a great series for the state," Ferentz said. "Every time we play in this series, we expect them to be tough, whether we're home or there. It's going to be a tough, competitive game."
"There's been plenty of discussion with teammates [about the rivalry], especially the guys from Iowa, and I know how much this means to us," McNamara said.
College football, like most competitive sports, demands a short memory from its players. Nonetheless, it's easy to forgive McNamara for hanging onto moments like Saturday.
"It was a really special moment for me to be able to swarm out with my teammates for the first time," McNamara said. "The longer I'm here, the more I understand how special that is for this program, and today's definitely going to be a day that I'll never forget."
