By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Kirk Ferentz wouldn’t go as far as to say that his quarterback switch on Saturday against Northwestern was permanent, but it sure felt that way.

It sure feels as if Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan will be the starter against Wisconsin on Saturday because to go a different route under the current circumstances would not only be highly questionable from a strategy, and from a personnel standpoint, it would also put Cade McNamara in a difficult situation because fans would prefer that Sullivan be the starter after having watched McNamara struggle during much of the 13 games he has started dating back to last season.

Even Kirk Ferentz has a breaking point with his starting quarterback, and it appears that McNamara finally reached that point when he threw an 85-yard pick-six early in the second quarter of Saturday’s 40-14 victory over Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium.

Sullivan was inserted in the game, and while he didn’t show signs of being the second coming of Chuck Long, or even Nate Stanley, he did provide a spark against his former team, mostly with his running ability.

Sullivan also did enough to earn his first start as a Hawkeye, even if McNamara is healthy enough to play against Wisconsin next Saturday.

And while it could create some awkwardness since McNamara is a team captain and the quarterback that Kirk Ferentz wanted so desperately from the transfer portal in 2022 that Ferentz committed a recruiting violation by contacting McNamara before McNamara had entered the portal, Kirk Ferentz’s job is to win football games, and right now, it looks as if Sullivan gives Iowa its best chance of being successful.

Sullivan’s ability to run clearly separates him from McNamara, who has had to overcome two straight season-ending knee injuries, and it gives the Iowa offense a dimension it doesn’t have with McNamara behind center.

McNamara was never very mobile on his best day before having two knee injuries. But he did seem more comfortable and more capable of moving the pocket while leading Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title.

As a Hawkeye, however, rarely, has McNamara shown an ability, or a willingness to run. And in this age of football, to not have a mobile quarterback is just asking for trouble, especially when he’s just 6-foot-1 as is the case with McNamara.

Kirk Ferentz appreciates that McNamara came to Iowa when the offense needed a quarterback.

Ferentz also appreciates the way in which McNamara has conducted himself as a Hawkeye.

“He’s been great. Can’t say enough about that,” Kirk Ferentz said. “He’s been really good. He was never healthy. He’s been great this entire year, going back to January. Never got on track a year ago, so that’s hard. That’s hard. But he’s been tremendous.”

McNamara was looking for a new home after losing his starting position for Michigan in 2022, and he found one at Iowa.

But so far, it just hasn’t worked out for a number of reasons, including health issues.

The wear and tear from having two knee surgeries, coupled with the quad injury that McNamara suffered in the 2023 Kids Day practice has made it hard for him to regain his old form.

The Cade McNamara that led Michigan to the 2021 Big Ten title, and to the college playoff that season, has yet to show himself at Iowa, and it seems highly unlikely that he ever will resurface.

The hope was that new offensive coordinator Tim Lester, who played quarterback in college, would help to lift McNamara’s performance level, but it just hasn’t happened.

Kirk Ferentz took exception in his post-game press conference on Saturday when a reporter while asking a question said that McNamara had been sent to the bench.

“I don’t know about ‘we ‘sent him to the bench?’ This was preplanned,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We communicate with everybody, especially the parties involved, just what our plan was and why.

“I didn’t see it as a demotion as much as like Brendan has been doing a good job. We want to learn more about him. We feel like we’ve grown with both of them. Keep our fingers crossed.”

Okay, it’s reasonable to believe that Iowa had planned to use both quarterbacks against Northwestern.

Kirk Ferentz said the plan was to insert Sullivan in the third or fourth series of the game.

What seems a little peculiar, though, is the timing of the switch because it came immediately after McNamara had thrown a pick-six.

McNamara apparently had been banged up on the play in which he threw the pick-six, so maybe that does explain the timing of the switch.

But it also seems as if Kirk Ferentz is giving McNamara a soft place to land, a demotion without actually saying it publicly.

Whatever the case, the time for change is now.

Cade McNamara has been given more than a fair chance to keep his job with 13 starts as a Hawkeye over two seasons.

He also reportedly received a lucrative NIL deal, so, Iowa has fulfilled its obligation.

It was up to McNamara to fulfill his part of the deal, but that is where he has come up short with his performance on the field.

Kirk Ferentz has a team to think about, and right now that team looks better with the 6-4, 220-pound Brendan Sullivan playing quarterback.

Sullivan only completed 9-of-14 passes for 79 yards against Northwestern. But he ran for 41 yards against his former team, while McNamara poses no threat as a runner.

“That’s a clear contrast,” Kirk Ferentz said of his two quarterbacks. “I think that’s one of Brendan’s strengths. He’s a really good athlete, really good at that.

“The other thing is he commanded the game. No matter what your style is as a quarterback, you have to do that. It was a good outing. Yeah, I think we got into a little flow in the second half. That was certainly encouraging.”

It hardly would come as a surprise if Kirk Ferentz were to say at his weekly press conference on Tuesday that Sullivan will start against the Badgers, partly because McNamara’s playing status still is uncertain because of the hits he took against Northwestern.

Kirk Ferentz was asked after Saturday’s game if he would consider using two quarterbacks. He immediately thought back to when Hayden Fry played both Gordy Bohannon and Pete Gales at quarterback for Iowa’s 1981 Big Ten champion team.

Ferentz was in his first season as Fry’s offensive line coach in 1981.

“We did it in ’81. You weren’t alive,” Ferentz said while smiling. “It worked out okay.

“I mean, yeah, we’ll do what’s best for the team. Going back to the point earlier about the rotation. It wasn’t we were benching Cade, we were going to give Brendan a chance, too. He’s done some good things. Gives us a chance to look at him.

“He did a lot of really good things today, a lot of things he’ll get better at, too. That’s encouraging. Hopefully, we have two guys we can win with.”

What happened with Cade McNamara on Saturday might not have been a benching by design, but it sure felt that way.

This kind of feels like the 2008 season when Jake Christensen was benched after four games and then Ricky Stanzi became the permanent starter at quarterback.

Iowa would go on to win six of its final seven games and did so with 2008 Doak Walker Award winner Shonn Greene leading the way at running back, and with Stanzi providing stability at quarterback.

Iowa now has another dynamic running back in Kaleb Johnson, who scored three touchdowns against Northwestern, pushing his season total to 16 rushing touchdowns.

So, now it’s up to Sullivan to provide stability at quarterback, and McNamara to accept whatever happens because the team always comes first.