Cade McNamara’s story as an Iowa football quarterback isn’t finished yet.

After losing his job and a two-game absence from a concussion, the sixth-year senior is preparing to lead the Hawkeyes once again.

McNamara has been cleared from his concussion, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Register on Monday, and the plan is for him to start in Saturday’s game at Maryland (11 a.m. CT, Big Ten Network).

The news of McNamara’s re-emergence to Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback comes in conjunction with Brendan Sullivan’s ankle injury being worse than initially thought. Sullivan exited Iowa’s 20-17 loss at UCLA in the third quarter after injuring his ankle on a third-down scramble.

Though Sullivan returned to that game for one more series, he was benched after throwing an interception and replaced by Jackson Stratton. Further testing last week showed a serious ankle injury that will cost him the rest of the regular season, the source confirmed. That news was first reported by CBS Sports on Monday.

So, it’ll be McNamara and Stratton, a walk-on, the rest of the way for the Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten). They’re listed as 6½-point favorites to beat the Terrapins (4-6, 1-6).

For the Hawkeyes, the Sullivan injury is an unfortunate dose of bad news. Despite his three-turnover game at UCLA, he gave the Iowa offense some juice with his dual-threat ability. Sullivan came off the bench to lead a 40-14 shellacking of Northwestern and then a 42-10 rout of Wisconsin before the trip to Pasadena, California. And even when McNamara was the starter, Sullivan offered Iowa a very successful goal-line quarterback option that offensive coordinator Tim Lester was delighted to deploy.

For McNamara, this is one final chance to finish his underwhelming Hawkeyes career on a high note. He committed to Iowa nearly two years ago, as a high-profile transfer from Michigan after leading the Wolverines to the 2021 College Football Playoff. Excitement about McNamara’s arrival was off the charts, and on a subsequent podcast McNamara dared outsiders to doubt the Hawkeyes’ beleaguered offense.

But his Iowa career has been a major disappointment to date.

A combination of major injuries slowed McNamara’s runway in 2023. A quad issue that August left him mostly immobile, and a torn ACL in late September ended his season altogether after just four-plus games.

McNamara came into 2024 with a clean bill of health after knee surgery, and he simply underperformed. His disastrous second half against Iowa State was costly in a dispiriting 20-19 home loss. He committed three second-half turnovers in a 35-7 loss at Ohio State, then was an ugly 3-for-9 in a decisive first half of a 32-20 loss at Michigan State.

Video: Iowa QB Cade McNamara on moving forward from Michigan State loss

QB Cade McNamara discusses a variety of topcis ahead of Iowa’s matchup with Northwestern.

McNamara has not topped 150 yards passing in any of his nine starts against power-conference competition as a Hawkeye.

Now, though, comes a chance to finish strong as a supporting cast also regains health following the team’s second off week. McNamara will face the nation’s 123rd-ranked passing defense in Maryland, one that allows more yards per game (262.7) than any other Big Ten team.

Iowa also is expected to get the return of linebacker Jay Higgins on Saturday, a Register source confirmed. Head coach Kirk Ferentz expressed optimism after the UCLA loss that tight end Addison Ostrenga also would be back after missing five games with an upper-body injury. If Ostrenga and No. 1 tight end Luke Lachey (quad bruise; nine snaps at UCLA) are back in the fold, that plus the Big Ten rushing leader in Kaleb Johnson should give McNamara every chance to succeed. It’s possible that starting wide receiver Reece Vander Zee (stress fracture) could return at Maryland, too.

A Black Friday home game against reeling Nebraska (5-5, 2-5) closes Iowa’s regular season. There is a path for Iowa to finish 8-4, in which case it’s almost certainly a trip back to Tampa for the Dec. 31 Reliaquest Bowl against a Southeastern Conference team to be determined. A 9-4 season, with McNamara finishing the deal, is not out of the question.

The Hawkeyes being a nearly touchdown favorite in College Park, Maryland, shows that oddsmakers are optimistic that Iowa won’t be held back by quarterback play.

No, McNamara will not be able to do enough to suddenly make his two-year Iowa career a resounding success. But he does have captain-level support from his teammates, who will undoubtedly be prepared to rally around McNamara to the 2024 finish line.

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 30 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on X.

Donald Trump blasted election pollster J. Ann Selzer, calling for a probe after her last pre-Election Day survey showed Kamala Harris beating him in Iowa.

For a 12th straight time in an opposing building, Iowa women’s basketball took the floor in front of a packed house. Sure, there were several large black-and-gold sections Sunday afternoon inside the Knapp Center. But this was the first true road challenge for this ascending Hawkeyes group.

Test, passed.

While thriving in hostile venues became second nature for last season’s Iowa team and the pieces still remaining from it, the current bunch is still generating those early-season moments that will become calming forces as the season wears on. Performances like Sunday’s 86-73 win over Drake will likely gain value as the Hawkeyes’ cohesion comes together.

“These are the games you look forward to the most,” said senior Addi O’Grady, who set a new career-high with 27 points on 13-for-21 shooting. “They’re really fun, and it’s just a charged environment.”

More: Leistikow: Emotional, grateful Jan Jensen leads Iowa to methodical win vs. Drake

The Hawkeyes won’t get another true road test until Big Ten play begins on Dec. 15 at Michigan State, adding more emphasis on conquering Sunday’s challenge with a team still meshing on all fronts. With double-digit victories now in both games away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa should plow into its upcoming stretch of neutral-site games.

Four out of Iowa’s next five games are outside Iowa City: Wednesday against Kansas in Sioux Falls, Nov. 28 and 29 versus Rhode Island and BYU at the Cancun Challenge, then Dec. 7 against Tennessee in Brooklyn. Following Sunday’s win, Jensen should feel additional confidence that her team can come out ahead in this pivotal stretch.

Other takeaways from Iowa’s in-state rivalry win:

Iowa coach Jan Jensen reflects on wave of emotions after win at Drake

The Iowa head coach improved to 4-0 with an 86-73 win over Drake, a day after a celebration of 50 years of Bulldogs women’s basketball.

Iowa’s 10-0 run to end the first half ‘might’ve won us the game’

Who blinks first when the separation stays slim can dictate how the rest of the basketball action unfolds, no matter when it arrives. Although Iowa didn’t know at the time how much its late second-quarter push would hold up, the Hawkeyes bounded into the locker room with game-changing confidence thanks to a crucial swing.

Knotted 35-35 with two minutes until the break didn’t seem like the setting for Iowa to break loose, especially after an elite defensive stretch looked like it was going to waste. The Hawkeyes held Drake to just one second-quarter field goal when Abbie Aalsma connected from deep to re-ignite the crowd.

The veteran moxie Iowa is trying to replenish stepped up when the Hawkeyes needed it most. A 10-0 sprint into the locker room arrived on Teagan Mallegni’s broad shoulders after she hit a tough layup and drained back-to-back treys in less than 90 seconds. Lucy Olsen added a mid-range basket in there for good measure.

Suddenly, a back-and-forth showdown swung Iowa’s way for good. Drake was only sporadically within double digits the rest of the way.

“That was huge, especially for our relatively younger team in the minutes they’ve played in big games,” coach Jan Jensen said. “In the past, we’ve had a lot of players who’ve been in these big games — but they dominated a lot of the minutes. So I thought that was a really huge spurt, and they went in (to the locker room) knowing they did something pretty well.

“That was hugely important. It might’ve won us the game.”

Addi O’Grady’s production continues climbing, and now, so do the expectations

For all the times recently that Iowa coaches have cautioned about using past players as blueprints for the present, O’Grady’s recent production has generated recalibrated expectations that resemble some of Iowa’s interior greats.

“The biggest compliment I can give her is I’m starting to have (Monika) Czinano and (Megan) Gustafson expectations,” Jensen said. “I was kind of cranky at a couple things she did out there. That means the expectations are growing. But I only know they’re growing because I know she can do it.“

Those are some impressive names in Iowa’s pantheon of posts. Yet, O’Grady’s start to her senior season has been worthy of the praise. A player whose career at times seemed to be spinning in the mud, O’Grady has provided the first unexpected jolt for Iowa this season.

She has scored in double figures in all four games while playing 20-plus minutes in the previous three. O’Grady’s 27 points and 10 rebounds marked her second collegiate double-double and first since her freshman season against Evansville.

“It’s really good early in the season, we’re going inside and getting our inside game going,” O’Grady said. “If our 3-pointers aren’t falling, we can fall back on that.”

O’Grady, though, is hardly a fallback option anymore.