Cade McNamara is making his first start for Iowa in Week 1, and the quarterback opened things up with a bang! He tossed a touchdown on the game’s opening drive with the touchdown also coming on his first pass attempt of the season.

The drive began in Utah State territory after an electric kick return by Kaleb Johnson to open the game. Johnson also carried the ball on a short gain on 1st-and-10 before hitting the air on the ensuing play.

While Seth Anderson was left wide open downfield, McNamara’s deep ball was perfectly placed for the score. It went for 36 yards and a touchdown on McNamara’s first pass of his Iowa career.

The context of that play cannot be overlooked for Iowa. It was actually the first passing touchdown for the Hawkeyes on a season opening drive since the 1991 season.

McNamara did not stop there, adding a short touchdown pass to former Michigan teammate Erick All on 4th down later in the first quarter. The QB now has 2 early passing touchdowns for the Hawkeyes. To put that in perspective, Spencer Petras finished with 5 total passing touchdowns a season ago and had just 1 game with 2 passing touchdowns all season long.

That is quite the start for McNamara and the Hawkeye offense, even against the competition of Utah State.