After reaching the Big Ten championship game in 2021, the Iowa football team took a major step backwards last season. The Hawkeyes finished the 2022 regular season with a 7-5 record, and they failed to win the Big Ten West division. Even with a lousy 7-4 record heading into their final game, a win over a poor Nebraska team would've sent them to the Big Ten title game, but they couldn't get the job done. A big issue that the team was facing was the offense, so in the offseason, Iowa took to the transfer portal to find a new quarterback, and they ended up landing the guy that beat them in the 2021 Big Ten championship game: Cade McNamara. McNamara was supposed to help get this offense on track, and after he went down with an injury on Saturday, things aren't looking good for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa football hosted Michigan State on Saturday night in Iowa City, and Cade McNamara went down awkwardly early in the game, and he had to leave the contest. It was announced a couple days later that he tore his ACL, and he will have to miss the remainder the season. This is heartbreaking for McNamara as he also missed the 2022 season because of an injury.

“It's just a really tough break considering the last two years for him he's had more than his share of obstacles and challenges from a health standpoint,” Iowa football head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Your heart goes out to guys when they're fighting hard to have a chance to go out and compete and don't have that opportunity due to health challenges. Good news is he should be fine once the recovery is over.”

The Hawkeyes will have to make it through the rest of the season without their starting quarterback. Backup QB Deacon Hill came in after McNamara went down and went 11-27 for 115 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It wasn't a great performance, but Iowa ended up getting the win, and that's all that matters.