By Pat Harty

Iowa City, Iowa – As one of few Iowa quarterbacks to have defeated Michigan at the Big House, Hank Brown has earned the right to have one subpar performance against arguably the most talented college football team in the country.

There is no denying that Brown struggled in the 31-14 loss to Ohio State this past Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, completing just 12 of 27 passes for 132 yards before being knocked out of the game by hard hit early in the fourth quarter. He also lost a fumble on Iowa’s opening series of the game that Ohio State quickly turned into a touchdown two plays later.

It just wasn’t a good day for Brown, and while the Buckeyes had plenty to do with his struggles, he also made some poor throws and just didn’t have it.

But to demote him after just one bad performance against a superior opponent, and in a game in which Iowa’s running game produced just 39 yards, would be unfair and an over-reaction.

So if Brown is healthy enough to play against Washington on Friday in Seattle, he deserves to start, assuming he performs well enough in practice throughout the week.

Brown is listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart.

But on the other hand, if Brown were to struggle against Washington in the first two or three series to start the game, then Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz should insert No. 2 quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski and see what happens.

Hecklinski completed all five of his passes in mop-up duty against Ohio State for 67 yards, and he made some nice throws.

But the score was also 31-6 at the time and Ohio State was in a prevent defense and also playing some reserves.

That isn’t meant to minimize or dismiss what Hecklinski accomplished against the Buckeyes, but rather just adding some perspective.

The biggest reason Hecklinski should be given a chance on Friday if Brown were to struggle is because the competition between Hecklinski and Brown was apparently so close that they were both listed as co-starters throughout spring practice, throughout preseason practice and heading into the season opener against Northern Illinois.

Hecklinski also moved ahead of Brown on the depth chart about midway through last season, becoming the backup to Mark Gronowski.

So it’s obviously been a close competition between the two, but when Brown played the entire game against Iowa State in week two, it became clear that he was the starter.

Hecklinski was thought to have gained some momentum after he clearly outplayed Brown in the Kids Day practice in mid-August, throwing four touchdown passes.

But afterwards, Kirk Ferentz warned the media not to over-react, and then a few days later, Ferentz told the media that Brown had actually had a slight advantage in practice in the days leading up to the Kids Day practice.

Ferentz has said multiple times that he has confidence in both quarterbacks, and believes that both can play winning football for Iowa as Brown already has this season.

But again, if the competition truly was as close as described heading into the season, then inserting Hecklinski shouldn’t be considered much of a risk or a step down.

Brown shouldn’t have to look over his shoulder every time he makes a mistake as the starter.

But he also shouldn’t have a free pass to struggle when the backup quarterback supposedly nearly won the starting job.

Like most head coaches, Ferentz prefers to stick with one quarterback during the course of a game because it helps with continuity and with developing a rhythm and flow.

And often times there is a noticeable gap between the starter and backup quarterback.

But that supposedly wasn’t the case with Brown and Hecklinski.

They were so close from a competition standpoint that Ferentz didn’t name a starter before the season opener, though it has felt since late summer that Brown has had the upper-hand.

Brown started two games for Auburn in 2024, performing well in one and getting benched in the other, while Hecklinski took three snaps as  a true freshman at Wake Forest in 2024.

Brown also played almost the entire fourth quarter against eventual national champion Indiana last season after Gronowski was injured, but it didn’t go well for Brown as he only completed 5-of-13 passes for 48 yards and one interception in the 20-15 loss at Kinnick Stadium.

Hecklinski appeared briefly for Iowa in two games last season, completing two passes for eight yards in mop-up duty. The Georgia native also had a six-yard touchdown run in the 41-3 victory over Minnesota.

Brown has an advantage over Hecklinski from an experience standpoint, but not enough to keep Hecklinski on the bench if Brown were to struggle.

No. 20/18 Iowa (4-1, 1-1) vs. Washington (3-2, 0-2)

When: Friday, 8:05 p.m.

Where: Seattle, Washington, Husky Stadium (70,138)

TV: Fox or FS1

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series history:  Friday’s game will be the eighth meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Washington. It is the
Hawkeyes’ first trip to Seattle since 1963 — a 17-7 Iowa victory.

Iowa leads the series, 4-3, with the Hawkeyes bringing a two-game winning streak into Husky Stadium. Iowa is 1-1 all-time in Seattle.

The Hawkeyes won the first meeting between the two schools as Big Ten foes, downing Washington, 40-16, in 2024 in Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa has met Washington three times in bowl games, falling twice in the Rose Bowl in 1981 and 1990 before winning the 1995 Sun Bowl, 38-18.

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SERIES RESULTS

9/25/1937 L 0-14 (A)

10/5/1963 W 17-7 (A)

10/3/1964 W 28-18 (#10) (H)

1/1/1981 L 0-28 (#16) (Pasadena, Calif.)

1/1/1990 L 34-46 (Pasadena, Calif.)

12/29/1995 W 38-18 (#20) (El Paso, Texas)

10/12/2024 W 40-16 (H)