Cade McNamara started his Iowa career with a win Saturday, guiding the Hawkeyes to a 24-14 win over Utah State.

While the season opener was not without some hiccups, McNamara began the game with a bang that included a touchdown pass on the first attempt of his Hawkeye career. It was a beautiful deep ball to a wide-open Seth Anderson that gave Iowa a touchdown 2 plays into the game.

After the win, McNamara was asked about the feeling of getting his time with the Hawkeyes started with that early score. He admitted being surprised to see that play call early on but said Utah State presented the perfect look for the pass.

“I was so fired up. We had the exact look we wanted, and to be honest I was kind of surprised that play was called that early,” said McNamara. “I was expecting maybe a play-action or something but when Brian (Ferentz) called it and we got the look, I was just so jacked up to be able to hit that and Seth made a good play on it.”

After throwing 2 early touchdowns, McNamara settled in and finished 17-of-30 passing for 191 yards. It was more than enough for the Hawkeyes on Saturday, but the offense will certainly look for more efficiency moving forward.

One cause for concern remains McNamara’s leg injury. He appeared to be dinged up on one play and was visibly limping from time to time after that hit.

We’ll see how McNamara responds moving forward, but that’s a successful debut to his credit.