THE Iowa Hawkeyes officially made a change at quarterback last Saturday, rolling with Brendan Sullivan over Cade McNamara under center.

The decision was not a surprise given that Iowa benched McNamara in favor of Sullivan the previous week, although McNamara was also dealing with an apparent injury.

But any hope of McNamara regaining his starting job this season has likely been lost.

The Hawkeyes hammered the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 42-10 in Sullivan’s debut, and Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register revealed a critical stat that demonstrates how much better Iowa’s offense worked with Sullivan taking snaps.

“Not that anyone needs convincing, but one of the best arguments for Brendan Sullivan remaining Iowa’s QB until the end: The Hawkeyes were 6 of 6 in the red zone against Wisconsin with six touchdowns”, Leistikow posted on his X account.

The Hawkeyes had even employed Sullivan in red zone packages before he even took the starting job, so clearly, he’s impressive in those situations.

Sullivan didn’t do much with his arm against Wisconsin, going 7-for-10 with 93 yards and a touchdown. However, he carried the ball nine times for 58 yards and a score, and his ability to use his legs clearly kept the Badgers’ defense off balance.

The 22-year-old transferred from Northwestern after last season. He threw for 714 yards, six touchdowns and a few interceptions while completing 63.6 percent of his passes in 2023.

We’ll see if Sullivan continues to deliver when Iowa takes on the UCLA Bruins this Friday.