By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – If the depth chart means anything, Brendan Sullivan will make his first start for the Iowa football team on Saturday against Wisconsin.

Sullivan is listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart, while Cade McNamara, who started the first eight games this season, is not listed on the depth chart, which was released Monday afternoon.

Iowa will face Wisconsin on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

Redshirt freshman Marco Lainez is listed as this week’s backup quarterback.

Sullivan was inserted for McNamara early in the second quarter of last Saturday’s 40-14 victory over Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium, and Sullivan would go on to play the rest of the game.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz then said after the game that McNamara had been banged up, and that they had planned to use both quarterbacks against Northwestern.

Ferentz declined to say that McNamara had been benched.

“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.”

With McNamara not listed on this week’s depth chart, it’s reasonable to assume that he still is doubtful for the Wisconsin game due to health reasons.

It isn’t uncommon for Iowa football players to not be listed on depth charts when there are injuries as Iowa Sports Information Director Matt Weitzel said in a post on X shortly after the depth chart was updated and released on Monday. Weitzel said there are more than one of those situations in Monday’s release.

Sullivan only threw for 79 yards against Northwestern, but he was Iowa’s second leading rusher with 41 yards, and he scored on a six-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Sullivan’s mobility gives the offense a dimension it doesn’t have with McNamara, who has had to overcome two straight season-ending knee injuries.

“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.”

Sullivan also has the support of the fans, who have been clamoring for a quarterback change.

So, what will Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Tim Lester ultimately decide?

Based on this week’s depth chart, it appears that Sullivan is preparing to make his first start as a Hawkeye.

He made four starts for Northwestern last season and then transferred to Iowa in June.