IOWA CITY -- Moving into week four, the Iowa offense has turned the page. It's still far from perfect, but things are moving in the right direction. A lot of it begins with the starting quarterback, Cade McNamara's health.
"It's been a really long time since I've been able to just play football," McNamara said at Tuesday's media availability. "This is the best I've felt in a really long time as far as not having to worry about my body, It's just a sense of relief."
Being able to focus on the game at hand instead of his health is provides a significant improvement for him and the offense.
"It does a lot," McNamara said. "When I'm able to be confident that I can move around or take shots -- that's just one more thing I don't have to worry about."
It's shown on the field so far in terms of the McNamara's and the team's efficiency through three games. So far, he's completing 63.9% of his passes, including a 19-of-23 performance against Troy on Saturday.
"I was just doing my best to put the ball in play and taking what the defense gave me," McNamara said of his performance against the Trojans. "The offensive line gave me a lot of time and the wide receivers were getting open, as well. I was able to dink and dunk my way down the field when I needed to."
It doesn't hurt that he has the nation's leading rusher in the backfield, either. Kaleb Johnson has totaled 479 yards and six touchdowns through 2.5 games this season.
"Our run game is what's opening everything up," McNamara said. "When we're having a balanced approach like that, it's hard to stop."
McNamara's teammates agree, and they've seen the offense progress at nearly the same speed as their QB1 has since his return from injury.
"When he's on, everybody else is on," senior center Logan Jones said. "Momentum is real. When he's hitting passes, scrambling and breaking tackles, it just gives you energy. You want to play for a guy who wants to go out there and win. It makes it so much more fun, too. When a guy is playing well, you want to play well, too. He just brings so much energy to this offense and this team."
Northwestern transfer receiver and the team's leading receiver, Jacob Gill has seen things progress for McNamara as well.
"The stats last week -- I think he only missed two passes in the second half," he said. "He's been clicking, and we've been clicking as an offense. Adding explosive plays will be great as well in the pass game. But this past week, he's been doing a great job."
There's certainly still work to be done, and Kirk Ferentz was sure to tell the media that.
"We'll see [if the offense is progressing]," he said Tuesday afternoon. "We've played three weeks right now, and I can't stand in front of you and say we've played a complete game from start to finish yet. ... We've had peaks and valleys."
For now, that's part for the course for Iowa.
"We faced some adversity on Saturday," Ferentz said. "Those things are going to be good for us in the long run. Whether it be Cade or the offensive line, hopefully our best football is in front of us -- that's the way it's got to work. ... I do think [Cade] is more comfortable now. Now, the challenge is if we can keep it going from week-to-week. The degree of difficulty is going to get a little tougher too, because [Minnesota] -- they've had two shut outs in a row. It's going to be a big challenge."
McNamara also acknowledged the room for the offense to continue to grow.
"I think overall, it's a work in progress," he said. "The steps that we've taken every single week have been huge for us. We just have to continue to get better. I'm really excited to see how this thing ends."
