Iowa

Iowa football: When, if ever, will the Hawkeyes’ quarterback woes get solved?

Published

1 year ago

October 6, 2024

Iowa football: When, if ever, will the Hawkeyes’ quarterback woes get solved?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz made his view of the quarterback position pretty clear after Saturday’s 35-7 loss at Ohio State.

No, the Hawkeyes are not headed for a change at quarterback, Ferentz said.

“We’re not ready, I think, to have a controversy at that position,” the longtime head coach said.

The loss to Ohio State again illustrated the gap between Iowa and national powerhouses. The Hawkeyes haven’t beaten one of the three giants of the Big Ten — Penn State, Michigan or Ohio State — since a 2021 win over the Nittany Lions. Against ranked opponents last season, Iowa was beaten a combined 92-0.

Perhaps you could point to the fact that Iowa at least scored on Saturday as progress. But in reality, Saturday’s margin was similar to those three games last season.

More: Leistikow: Rating concern levels for Iowa football at quarterback, offensive line, defense

The quarterback position wasn’t good enough on Saturday. Cade McNamara finished the game 14-of-20 passing for 98 yards and three turnovers — two fumbles and one interception. Just like the game itself, the quarterback play fit an old, tired narrative.

When, if ever, will Iowa’s quarterback woes finally be solved?

To be clear, quarterback production was not the only deficient area on Saturday. The Hawkeyes were beaten in the trenches — on both sides of the ball — and outgained 203-116 on the ground. Iowa’s defense also gave up four touchdowns through the air.

After Iowa trailed just 7-0 at the break, it got ugly in the second half. Ohio State is a legitimate national championship threat, and the Hawkeyes didn’t do much in the third and fourth quarters to show they could compete at that level.

“The bottom line is, you’ve got to play clean football against a team like this,” Ferentz said. “We weren’t able to do that. They get some credit on that, too.”

Kirk Ferentz on Cade McNamara after loss to Ohio State: ‘Cade will be fine’

Kirk Ferentz discusses a variety of topics after Iowa’s 35-7 loss to Ohio State.

Since the 2019 departure of Nate Stanley, Iowa’s quarterback struggles have been no secret. Whether it be Spencer Petras or Alex Padilla or Deacon Hill, Iowa hasn’t gotten necessary production from that position. There was optimism that McNamara, once a prized transfer from Michigan, would be the solution.

Through the first 10 games of his Iowa career, McNamara has fallen short of that.

The lowest bar for McNamara to clear as Iowa’s quarterback — taking care of the ball — is something he was unable to do on Saturday.

McNamara’s turnovers came on three consecutive possessions to open the second half, all but erasing any first-half hope that Iowa had managed to build.

Because Iowa lives in such thin margins, avoiding turnovers is paramount, even more so against a team like Ohio State. The lack of ball security was a reason the quarterback position was such a disaster at Iowa last season. Hill finished the season with a ratio of eight interceptions to five passing touchdowns.

McNamara’s touchdown pass-to-interception ratio this season is now 3-to-3. He was without a turnover against Illinois State, Troy and Minnesota, but coughing up the ball proved costly against Iowa State and Ohio State. An early second-half turnover against Iowa State this season gave the Cyclones life. Three against Ohio State on Saturday shut the door on a possible upset.

“We evaluate every position week to week,” Ferentz said about quarterback. “But we’re comfortable. I think Cade’s improving. I really do. It sounds funny with the turnovers today, I think he seems more comfortable. His timing seems better. And he was getting the ball out really well in the first half. We have to improve as a collective offense.”

It might go against popular opinion but to Ferentz’s point, McNamara started Saturday’s contest well, completing 10 of his first 12 passes. There is, however, a gaping hole in that argument.

Completion efficiency is not McNamara’s biggest issue. In fact, in the last two games — against Minnesota and Ohio State — he was a combined 25-of-39, marking major improvement from a putrid 13-of-29 outing against Iowa State.

But that extremely efficient stretch against Ohio State matters less if it amounts to zero points and also means turning the ball over three times later on.

In his Iowa career, McNamara has not yet thrown a touchdown against a power conference opponent (granted, a redzone package with backup Brendan Sullivan was implemented earlier this season, making it more difficult for McNamara to do so). But more troubling than the lack of touchdowns are the fact that all three of his interceptions this season have come against power conference opponents (one was a last ditch heave against Iowa State). You can also add the two fumbles against Ohio State to that turnover tally.

Iowa didn’t get McNamara just to beat up on lower level programs. When the competition level rises, he needs to do so with it.

“We just can’t turn the ball over,” McNamara said Saturday. “We had three drives in a row with turnovers. That just can’t happen. They just came out in the second half and they played well. They’re are a good defense and they’re a good team.”

You can argue ad nauseam against Ferentz’s assertion that McNamara is improving. But bottom line is, the fact that this is even a discussion is a problem. It was reasonable to think that McNamara would’ve been better than this through five games.

Iowa doesn’t need its quarterback to be prolific. Running back Kaleb Johnson solves a lot for the offense with the way he’s been playing. Iowa just needs McNamara to take care of the ball and make defenses pay on occasion when the chance presents itself.

In critical moments, that hasn’t been the case.

Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson reacts to 35-7 loss at Ohio State

The Hawkeyes junior wound up rushing 15 times for 86 yards, but most of those came after the game was decided.

Through the first 10 games of his Iowa career — split between 2023 and 2024 due to injury — McNamara hasn’t done much to validate the excitement that once surrounded him. Ferentz has preached patience for someone who has been out for an extended period — on multiple occasions. That faith in him could still bear results.

But time is becoming of the essence for McNamara to change the narrative.

Said Ferentz: “Cade will be fine.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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Iowa

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Published

2 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Iowa House OKs ‘3 strikes’ bill with 20-year prison terms. What to know

Iowans who commit multiple serious crimes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a “three strikes” bill passed by House lawmakers.
Republicans said the bill would keep Iowans safe and “prioritize victims and public safety over criminals.”
A nonpartisan state agency says the bill would disproportionately impact Black Iowans and could require the state to spend millions to build a new prison.

Repeat offenders convicted of multiple serious crimes would receive a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under a bill passed by House lawmakers.

House lawmakers debated for more than an hour about high costs, lack of prison space and the bill’s impact on Black Iowans before voting 68-23 to pass House File 2542, sending it to the Iowa Senate.

Seven Democrats, including Minority Leader Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.

“It will put public safety first,” said the bill’s floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “It will ensure that the debt to victims and society is paid. It will prioritize victims and public safety over criminals. It will establish real and effective deterrence that is nonexistent in our current system. It will reduce chaos and violence in our society.”

Here’s what to know about the bill.

What would the House Republican three strikes bill do?

Iowans who accumulate three strikes would face a mandatory 20-year prison sentence, with no parole, under the bill.

That would replace Iowa’s current law that says habitual offenders must serve a minimum three-year prison sentence before they are eligible for parole.

All felonies, as well as aggravated misdemeanors involving sexual abuse, domestic abuse, assault and organized retail theft would be considered level-one offenses that are worth one full strike.

Other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors involving assault, domestic abuse and criminal mischief would be considered level-two offenses worth half a strike each.

Lawmakers amended the bill to remove theft, harassment and possession of a controlled substance from the crimes that would count toward a person’s strikes.

And the amendment specifies that the bill would only apply to convictions that occur beginning July 1, 2026.

If someone is arrested and convicted of multiple offenses, only the most serious charge would count towards the defendant’s strikes.

Convictions would not count toward someone’s total if more than 20 years passes between a prior conviction and their current conviction.

Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill to say that only a violent crime would qualify as someone’s third strike, but Republicans rejected the amendment.

“The bill still scores murder, felony embezzlement and felony theft the same, even though they are very different crimes,” Wilburn said. “One point is one point and three gets you 20 years with no ability for parole or judicial discretion.”

Holt said the legislation leaves room for judicial and prosecutorial discretion.

“There are deferred sentences, there are plea bargains,” he said. “There is plenty of opportunity for grace and judicial discretion in the legislation that we are proposing.”

Bill could cost millions, require Iowa to build a new prison, agency says

A fiscal analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency said it could cost Iowa nearly $165 million more per year by 2031 based on the cost of housing inmates for longer prison stays.

FY 2027: $33 million
FY 2028: $66 million
FY 2029: $99 million
FY 2030: $132 million
FY 2031: $164.9 million

The agency said if the bill had been in effect between fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2025, there would have been 5,373 people who qualified for the 20-year mandatory minimum sentence.

“An increase in the prison population due to increased (length of stay) will require the DOC to build additional prison(s),” the agency states. “The size, security and other features that a future prison may require cannot be determined, but costs would be significant.”

The analysis noted that South Dakota appropriated $650 million last fall to build a 1,500-bed prison.

As of March 1, the Iowa Department of Corrections’ website describes the state’s prison system as being overcrowded by 25%, with 8,705 inmates compared to a capacity of 6,990.

The Office of the State Public Defender could see a projected cost increase of $1.6 million due to an increased number of trials resulting from the legislation.

But the agency’s estimates come with a caveat — the Department of Corrections did not respond to its requests for data.

“The LSA has not received a response to multiple requests for information from the DOC,” the note states. “Without additional information, the LSA cannot estimate the total fiscal impact of the bill.”

Holt called the fiscal note “an embarrassment to the Department of Corrections” and “an agenda masquerading as math.”

“It is clear, in my judgment, that because they did not like the legislation they went all out and extreme to create a fiscal note that cannot be taken seriously in its assumptions,” he said. “It assumes that nothing will change, that there will be no deterrent factor and that the numbers will continue as usual.”

Black Iowans would be disproportionately impacted by the law

The Legislative Services Agency analysis says the bill “may disproportionately impact Black individuals if trends remain constant.”

Of the 29,438 people convicted in fiscal year 2025 of felonies and aggravated misdemeanors that constitute a level one offense under the bill, the agency said about 70% were White, 22% were Black and 9% were other races.

Iowa’s overall population is 83% White, 4% Black and 13% other races, the agency said.

It’s not clear how the bill’s impact would change to account for the House amendment removing some crimes from counting towards the three strikes.

“Expanding three-strike laws will intensify disparities — and that’s what this statement shows — by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion,” Wilburn said. “We already have a habitual offender statute. We already have one in place. We have a 10-year low in recidivism in our correctional system.”

Rep. Angel Ramirez, D-Cedar Rapids, said California’s three strikes law, passed in the 1990s, worsened racial disparities, and “Iowa is about to repeat the same mistake.”

“I urge every member here, do not pass legislation that our own minority impact statement tells us will deepen inequality in our state,” Ramirez said.

Holt said minority communities in Iowa are impacted by crime and that the legislation “will make citizens of all colors safer.”

And he said the minority impact statement “tells only one side of the story, doesn’t it? It tells the criminal’s story. What about the victim’s story?”

“What about the mother who will continue to tuck her kids in at night and read them Bible stories because she never became the next victim of a violent career criminal?” he said. “Where is that data point in the minority impact statement?”

House lawmakers also approved separate legislation that would increase Iowa’s statewide bond schedule, Senate File 2399.

That bill passed on a vote of 74-19.

Iowans could see more information on judges’ rulings

Iowans would have access to more information about judges’ rulings ahead of the state’s judicial retention elections under a separate measure, House File 2719, which passed on a 73-19 vote.

The Iowa secretary of state’s office would be required to publish information including:

The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the state’s bond schedule
The frequency that the judge releases someone on their own recognizance for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense
The frequency that the judge’s final sentence is lower than statutory recommendations or a prosecutor’s recommendations
The number of times the judge issues a deferred judgement, deferred sentence or suspended sentence
The number of times the judge’s rulings are reversed on appeal due to abuse of discretion or error of law
The average time it takes the judge to rule on a motion or case
The number of cases the judge has resolved compared to the number of cases on the judge’s docket

The data would have to be displayed with a five-year trend line beginning five years after the bill takes effect.

The Secretary of State’s Office would also be required to maintain a searchable database of all judicial opinions and orders for the judge’s current term and the preceding six years. The decisions would be redacted when appropriate.

And judges would have the opportunity to write a 2,000-word personal statement on their judicial philosophy or data trends present in their rulings.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.

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Iowa

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

Published

14 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Man sentenced for killing 4 people appeals his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Luke Truesdell’s attorney has filed as of Sunday to appeal his sentence to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Truesdell was sentenced last week to three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years for the deaths of four people killed in rural Linn County.

A jury convicted Luke Truesdell, 36, in November on the first-degree murder of Brent Brown, 34; his girlfriend, Keonna Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids; and Amanda Parker, 33, of Vinton. They also found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Romondus Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids.

His attorneys previously argued multiple reasons for a retrial that could potentially be brought up again.

They said that one juror was overheard talking about news on the case.

They also said the prosecutors inflamed the jury, rather than focusing on the facts.

His lawyers said there is no direct evidence that Truesdell committed the murders.

Truesdell’s defense also pointed to Truesdell’s father, Larry Tuesdell, who was found covered in blood at the scene but never fully investigated. Authorities have not been able to locate Larry.

The state disagreed, citing overwhelming evidence including DNA on the murder weapon, eyewitness testimony and video of Truesdell entering the garage where the four people were found dead.

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Iowa

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

2026 Iowa high school boys basketball state tournament brackets, schedule

The Iowa high school boys state basketball tournament is just around the corner and the full field has now been set.

By March 13, four teams will be crowned state champions and there are plenty of worthy squads vying for the title. On Tuesday, the final brackets were released and we now have a clear picture of the eight teams in each class hoping to take home the trophy.

Here’s a look at the first-round pairings and the full state tournament schedule for next week’s IHSAA action.