Iowa QB Cade McNamara won't play Saturday vs. Wisconsin due to concussion

The Iowa Hawkeyes announced on Tuesday that due to suffering a concussion, quarterback Cade McNamara will not play in Saturday's game against Wisconsin, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

McNamara, the former Michigan Wolverine, transferred to Iowa ahead of the 2023 season. Simply put, it has been a struggle for the senior quarterback.

Last season, McNamara only completed 51.1% of his passes for four TDs and was picked off three times.

This season, it has been much of the same for McNamara. While his completion percentage has improved to 60.5%, he has thrown six TDs and has been intercepted five times.

With McNamara sidelined, Brendan Sullivan, the junior transfer from Northwestern, is expected to get the start. 

In Iowa's Week 9 win over his former team, Sullivan was put in the game. While he only passed for 79 yards, Sullivan was efficient throwing the ball and even rushed for 41 yards and a TD, giving the Hawkeyes more of a dual-threat option under center.

While Iowa fans would like to see Sullivan become the starter going forward, head coach Kirk Ferentz is not making that move just yet.

"Yeah, we'll see on that. Permanent's a strong word," Ferentz said. "It's like super glue or whatever. We had already made the decision during the week that we were going to rotate Brendan in a little bit. Thought third or fourth series depending on how it played out, so it just worked out that way. And then he did a really nice job. Cade was shook up also after the hit he took."

With running back Kaleb Johnson performing at a high level, finding some consistency at quarterback is crucial for Iowa. Johnson has carried the ball 146 times for 1,144 yards, 16 TDs and an impressive average of 7.8 yards per carry. Johnson only trails Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty of Boise State in total rush yards this season.

As Iowa searches to have a more balanced attack on offense, the Hawkeyes will roll with Sullivan in hopes of finding a much-needed spark at quarterback in Saturday's game.