Cade McNamara and Iowa will aim to rebound after a poor performance when the Hawkeyes host Troy on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, Iowa.
McNamara authored a sterling performance in the season opener on Aug. 31, completing 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the Hawkeyes’ 40-0 victory over Illinois State.
He fell flat in the following game, however, going 13-for-29 for 99 yards with two interceptions as Iowa (1-1) saw a double-digit lead slip away in a 20-19 setback to Iowa State.
“I think we expect him to be our quarterback and expect some ups and downs,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of McNamara. “I’ve been saying it pretty consistently. He’s still working his way back into shape, as is our whole team with the offense and whatever. But we’ll get better. We’ll improve. Our guys have a great attitude, he’s got a great attitude, and we’ll work through this.”
Kaleb Johnson has been working out just fine, recording a pair of touchdowns in both of Iowa’s games. He has rushed for 306 yards on a robust average of 8.5 yards per carry.
Troy (0-2) has struggled to stop the run this season, surrendering an average of 212.5 yards per game.
“The first thing we have to do to improve our run defense is we have to do better tackling,” Trojans coach Gerad Parker said. “It sounds simple, but we’re just not tackling well on defense right now. That involves technique and pursuit, and the second part is we have to own our gaps and schemes to make sure we’re where we’re supposed to be.”
Troy’s Damien Taylor followed a 103-yard rushing performance in the season opener against Nevada with just 33 yards vs. Memphis last week. Goose Crowder, who is nursing a shoulder injury, and Matthew Caldwell have split the quarterbacking duties, with wideouts Devonte Ross and Peyton Higgins serving as their top targets.
Parker said Monday that Crowder is probable to play against Iowa. He said the same for starting center Eli Russ (undisclosed), but Boaz Stanley and Tyler Cappi would split time at the position if Russ sits out a second straight game.
