Cade McNamara
The Iowa quarterback completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns in Iowa’s season opener on Saturday.
The Iowa football team will face rival Iowa State in Week 2 on Saturday with the goal of winning its eighth Cy Hawk trophy in the last nine years.
But that won’t be the only story surrounding the Hawkeyes.
Iowa gets Kirk Ferentz back for the first time this season after the 69-year-old coach served a self-imposed one-game suspension in Week 1 against Illinois State. It was the Hawkeyes’ first game since Nov. 21, 1998, in which he did not appear with his team. It was also the first game since Nov. 25, 1978 in which neither Ferentz nor his predecessor, Hayden Fry, appeared in a game.
LEISTIKOV’S DVR MONDAY: Assessing Cade McNamara and Tim Lester’s offense in Iowa football’s Week 1 win
Ferentz begins his 26th season with the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Here’s why he missed Week 1 against Illinois State:
Why is this Kirk Ferentz’s first game as Iowa coach in 2024?
Ferentz served a one-game suspension imposed by himself and Iowa athletic director Beth Goetz after the NCAA found the Hawkeyes had committed a recruiting violation in 2022 related to Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNamara.
Why was Kirk Ferentz suspended for Iowa’s Week 1 game?
As HawkCentral previously reported, Ferentz was suspended for a recruiting violation related to McNamara’s 2022 recruitment. The former Michigan quarterback was contacted by Iowa’s staff one day after entering the portal, and he committed to the Hawkeyes three days later.
Shortly after joining the Hawkeyes, McNamara said on a podcast that he knew where he would end up from the moment he entered his name into the transfer portal.
This led to the suspension of Ferentz and Iowa wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr in Week 1. Budmayr already had a relationship with McNamara, having recruited him to be Wisconsin’s quarterbacks coach out of high school. Budmayr was an analyst for Ferentz when McNamara joined Iowa.
REQUIRED READING: Iowa Football: 5 numbers that stood out in the Hawkeyes’ 40-0 win over Illinois State
“I frequently tell our players to follow the rules, and in this specific case, I did not do so because I made a mistake in the recruiting process,” Ferentz read in a statement at a press conference on Aug. 22. “I want to apologize to our players, coaching staff, university administration and our incredible fans.”
“In my 26 years as a head coach, this is the first possible Level II violation I have committed and it will not happen again.”
The NCAA’s investigation is ongoing, meaning the program and Ferentz may face additional penalties and sanctions.
Who coached the Iowa football team during Kirk Ferentz’s absence in Week 1?
Iowa associate head coach Seth Wallace served as the Hawkeyes’ interim coach in Week 1 against Illinois State, storming to a 40-0 victory.
Wallace, who joined Ferentz’s staff in 2014 as an assistant defensive line coach and the program’s recruiting coordinator, currently coaches Iowa’s linebacker group and serves as an assistant defensive line coach along with Phil Parker.
“I’m very proud of our staff, I’m very proud of our team, especially our players. What they did today under the circumstances was really pretty cool,” Wallace said in his post-game press conference. “We’re happy with the win.”
REQUIRED READING: Who is Reece Vander Zee? Iowa football rookie WR breaks out in Hawkeyes opener
Kirk Ferentz Iowa coaching record
Here’s how Iowa has performed under Ferentz over the years:
Bowl game result in brackets
- 1999: 1-10
- 2000: 3-9
- 2001: 7-5 (win in the Alamo Bowl)
- 2002: 11-2 (loss in the Orange Bowl)
- 2003: 10-3 (Outback Bowl win)
- 2004: 10-2 (win in the Capital One Bowl)
- 2005: 7-5 (loss in the Outback Bowl)
- 2006: 6-7 (loss in the Alamo Bowl)
- 2007: 6-6
- 2008: 9-4 (Outback Bowl win)
- 2009: 11-2 (Orange Bowl win)
- 2010: 8-5 (Insight Bowl win)
- 2011: 7-6 (Insight Bowl win)
- 2012: 4-8
- 2013: 8-5 (loss in the Outback Bowl)
- 2014: 7-6 (loss in the TaxSlayer Bowl)
- 2015: 12-2 (loss in the Rose Bowl)
- 2016: 8-5 (loss in the Outback Bowl)
- 2017: 8-5 (win in the Pinstripe Bowl)
- 2018: 9-4 (Outback Bowl win)
- 2019: 10-3 (Holiday Bowl win)
- 2020: 6-2
- 2021: 10-4 (loss in the Citrus Bowl)
- 2022: 8-5 (win in the Music City Bowl)
- 2023: 10-4 (loss in the Citrus Bowl)
