By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Heading into the 2024 season, I had Washington as a highly probable win for the Iowa football team.

Washington’s roster in the wake of last season’s national runner-up finish had been gutted, and it was easy to assume that there would be some growing pains under first-year head coach Jedd Fisch.

And there has been growing pains, many of which occurred in losses to instate rival Washington State and to Rutgers by scores of 24-19 and 21-18, respectively.

I also took into consideration that Washington would have to travel halfway across the country to play a game in Iowa City that starts at 11:10 a.m. CST, which is 9:10 a.m. in Seattle.

But now with the game in less than 24 hours, my confidence in Iowa has started to wane due to Washington being better than expected and due to Iowa being not as good as expected, at least to this point.

Iowa has faced two tough opponents in its first five games in Iowa State and Ohio State and lost both games.

Last Saturday’s 35-7 loss at Ohio State was discouraging because it was yet another case in which Iowa fell way short against an elite opponent.

The current Washington team isn’t elite, and never will be with two losses already.

It is dangerous, though.

Should Iowa struggle in any of the three phases, it could be in trouble.

Washington had a massive void to fill at quarterback with Michael Penix having moved on to the NFL, and the transfer portal has since delivered with the addition of former Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers, who ranks second all-time in the Southeastern Conference with over 12,000 passing yards.

Rogers has passed for 1,625 yards and 12 touchdowns in the first six games. He is also completing 73.6 percent of his passes and has thrown just one interception in 178 attempts.

In other words, Rogers has held up his end of the transfer portal/NIL deal, while Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara is struggling in that regard.

McNamara, who transferred to Iowa from Michigan after the 2022 season, committed turnovers on three straight possessions in the second half against Ohio State last Saturday, and he is only averaging 137.2 passing yards per game.

From a body of work standpoint, McNamara has started 10 games for Iowa, but he has thrown almost as many interceptions (five) as touchdown passes (seven) in those games.

His longest completion as a Hawkeye has gained just 36 yards.

Some fans are losing their patience with McNamara and are clamoring for Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan to see more playing time at quarterback.

“I stay away from a majority of that noise,” McNamara said. “Everyone is going to say something about the quarterback play. Quarterbacks probably have I the worst. That just comes with the position and that’s anticipated by any power five or any quarterback. Criticism is going to come with the job.

“We know what’s going on inside the building. We know the reads. We know the progressions. We know the routes. We know what the true evaluation of it is and that’s the only thing I’m worried about.”

McNamara seems to be saying that his critics don’t really have a grasp of the situation because they’re on the outside looking in.

And while there is some truth to that, the critics are basing their argument on what they witness in each game, and so far, it mostly has been a struggle for McNamara.

He is coming off two straight season-ending knee injuries that required surgery in both cases, and that wears on a body.

But if ever there were a time for McNamara to finally bust loose and play his best game as a Hawkeye, Saturday’s game against the Huskies is that time because time is running out.

This isn’t to say that McNamara will have to be spectacular for Iowa to win.

He just needs to be good and reliable, consistent and productive.

He needs to make the easy plays look routine and make enough of the hard plays to keep the Huskey defense guessing.

And he must protect the football and avoid turnovers.

That might sound like a lot to ask, but it really is just asking your starting quarterback to manage the game.

A significant part of McNamara’s game management will be handing the football to junior running back Kaleb Johnson, so Johnson can do his thing.

The running game never really clicked against Ohio State, so look for offensive coordinator Tim Lester to try to re-establish the run early and often against Washington, which is allowing 130.5 rushing yards per game.

The Iowa defense will face a stiff test against Rogers and his Huskey cohorts on offense.

Iowa has been susceptible to big plays this season, while the Washington offense has multiple playmakers who can score from anywhere on the field.

Receiver Denzel Boston has eight touchdown catches in six games and is averaging 14.1 yards per reception.

That is twice as many touchdown catches than Iowa has in five games.

Iowa will have home-field advantage on Saturday, however, and that could be a huge factor.

And remember the early kickoff.

First-year Washington head coach Jedd Fisch in preparing his players for the early kickoff twice held practice at 9 a.m. this week.

The team also traveled to Iowa City on Thursday and was scheduled to have a walk-through at Kinnick Stadium at 11 a.m. CST on Friday.

The point spread has stayed around two points in favor of Iowa, but a home team usually gets three points for hosting.

So, the oddsmakers are basically saying this game is a toss-up.

And though it’s easy to marvel over Washington’s offensive statistics, penalties is certainly one statistic that favors Iowa, which has only been flagged 12 times, while Washington has been penalized a whopping 45 times.

Washington also lost at Rutgers, scoring just 18 points after traveling across the country.

The trip to Iowa City is only half as long, but it’s still a three-day grind.

For the loser of this game, what probably was already a slim chance of making the 12-team playoff will be lost.

“This will be a good game for us to bounce back,” McNamara said. “It’s going to be a battle, though. “They’re a good team and we’re looking forward to another good opportunity.

Saturday’s game will mark the just the second time that Washington has played in Iowa City.

Iowa defeated the 10th-ranked Huskies 28-18 in 1964.

Hawkeye quarterback Gary Snook threw two touchdown passes and ran for another.

Snook did what Iowa fans have been waiting for Cade McNamara to do.

Prediction: Iowa 23, Washington 21

 

Washington (4-2, 1-1) vs. Iowa (3-2, 2-1)

When: Saturday, 11:10 a.m.

Where: Kinnick Stadium

TV: FOX

Radio: Iowa Radio Network

All-time series: Series is tied 3-3

Last meeting: Iowa won 38-18 on Dec. 29, 1995 in the Sun Bowl.