The Iowa Hawkeyes were able to cobble together a 29-13 win over the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon in spite of entering the game with major distractions.

The chief distraction at hand was the status of Iowa’s quarterback situation, as the Hawkeyes were forced to roll with Jackson Stratton thanks to Cade McNamara and Brendan Sullivan both being sidelined.

McNamara’s status was particularly murky, as the initial consensus was that he would regain his starting job once it was revealed that Sullivan would be out for the season with an ankle injury.

However, confusion over McNamara’s availability made things, as head coach Kirk Ferentz would say, “cloudy,” and he ended up not being medically cleared to play due to a concussion he suffered back on Oct. 26.

Either way, Iowa emerged victorious in spite of Stratton going 10-of-14 for 76 yards. Kaleb Johnson carried the day, as per usual, racking up 164 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries. Kamari Moulton also rattled off 114 yards, with 68 of those yards coming on a touchdown scamper.

But even with the running game operating smoothly (for the most part), you just felt like the Hawkeyes were lacking.

Maryland is not a good football team, so beating the Terrapins is not really a good barometer to determine how well Iowa played.

Because I’ll be honest: if the Hawkeyes faced an even decent ballclub on Saturday, they may very well have lost with all of the opportunities they blew.

Iowa had to settle for five field goals, and Moulton fumbled inside the red zone early in the first quarter. This should have been a much wider margin of victory than 16 points.

Yes, the defense held serve, but, again, it’s Maryland we’re talking about here.

The 2024 season has been a cluster of inconsistency for the Hawkeyes. They entered the season full of promise, but it has not materialized like they hoped.

It has reached a point where it has almost feels like Iowa needs to put this thing out of its misery. The Hawkeyes have no quarterback. They have no weapons in the passing game. Their defense isn’t quite as stingy as it was last season.

Iowa is 7-4, but it has been unable to put together a stretch of consistently sound football all year long. Fans are frustrated, and just getting a run-of-the-mill bowl game is not going to satisfy them.

Things need to change at Iowa City, because what the Hawkeyes are doing now isn’t working. The offense needs an overhaul. No more skirting the issue under center and with wide receivers.

The problem is this isn’t the NFL. You can’t just sign a bunch of free agents, make trades and draft players overnight. It’s going to involve a stark change in recruiting, and Iowa is somehow going to have to land a couple of big names via the transfer portal.

I don’t want to rain on the parade. The Hawkeyes won, and that’s great. Be proud of the kids for playing their guts out in the face of all of the adversity.

But man, it has certainly been a pedestrian season.

Iowa will close things out against Nebraska next week.

The rich continue to get richer.

The Iowa women’s wrestling program added to an already loaded roster late Friday night with the commitment of Isabella Marie Gonzalez. She is the No. 3 pound-for-pound recruit in girls high school wrestling regardless of age and the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025.

Gonzalez, who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 120 pounds at the high school level by USAWrestling, has the makings of a star. She was the U17 World Team representative (finishing fifth) for the United States at 53 kilograms this summer. She was also a U17 Pan-American Games champion in 2023, fitting the mold of what coach Clarissa Chun looks for in international success.

From the state of California, she is a two-time state champion, a multi-time Fargo medalist and a Super 32 champion.

“I am excited to announce my official commitment to the University of Iowa,” Gonzalez wrote in an Instagram post. “Thank you to everyone who has continued to support me through my journey. Go Hawkeyes!”

This is the first commit of the 2025 class for the Hawkeyes, who brought in seven freshmen and 11 total new faces in 2024. Given the proposed roster limits of 30 coming next season, the number of newcomers isn’t likely to match or exceed the 2024 number.

Regardless, this is a high-profile addition for the Hawkeyes in a weight that needed some additional talent. The lone question is whether that will be at 117 or 124 pounds for the Hawkeyes. Her addition to depth behind Brianna Gonzalez at 117 or potentially competing for a spot right away at 124 pounds will be a welcome addition either way.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

Hoping to end a chaotic buildup with a strong performance, Iowa football plays its final road game of the regular season Saturday at Maryland. Big Ten Network will televise the 11 a.m. CT contest.

The Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten Conference) have had all kinds of drama at quarterback this week despite coming off a bye week. Brendan Sullivan is out this week with an ankle injury, while Cade McNamara (concussion) has been medically cleared but isn’t ready to start. That means walk-on Jackson Stratton, who made a second-half cameo last time out at UCLA, will likely be Iowa’s starting quarterback Saturday. Who will be his backup remains undetermined.

On the other side, Maryland (4-6, 1-6) is trying to claw its way to a bowl game after dropping five of its last six. Its most recent stumble came last week in a 31-17 home loss to Rutgers.

Here’s how to watch the Iowa vs. Maryland game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

Watch Iowa vs. Maryland football live on FUBO (free trial)

What channel is Iowa vs. Maryland on today?

TV channel: BTN

Livestream: Fubo (free trial) and Fox Sports Live

Iowa vs. Maryland will broadcast nationally on BTN in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Guy Haberman and Yogi Roth will call the game from the booth at SECU Stadium, with Rhett Lewis reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Iowa vs. Maryland time today

Date: Saturday, November 23

Start time: 11 a.m. (CT)

The Iowa vs. Maryland game starts at 11 a.m. CT from SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland.

Iowa vs. Maryland predictions, picks, odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 22

Moneyline: Iowa -200, Maryland +165

Spread: Iowa -4.5

O/U: 44.5

Iowa football schedule 2024

• Aug. 31: vs. Illinois State, (W, 40-0)
• Sept. 7: vs. Iowa State, (L, 20-19)
• Sept. 14: vs. Troy, (W, 38-21)
• Sept. 21: at Minnesota, (W, 31-14)
• Oct. 5: at Ohio State (L, 35-7)
• Oct. 12: vs. Washington (W, 40-16)
• Oct. 19: at Michigan State, (L, 32-20)
• Oct. 26: vs. Northwestern, (W, 40-14)
• Nov. 2: vs. Wisconsin, (W, 42-10)
• Nov. 8: at UCLA, (L, 20-17)
• Nov. 23: at Maryland, 11 a.m.
• Nov. 29: vs. Nebraska, 6:30 p.m.
• Record: 6-4

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.