Iowa football rewind: Breaking down Cade McNamara’s 3 costly turnovers against Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jay Higgins saw value in playing top-tier competition that goes against the cliche of underdogs having nothing to lose.

“Every game is being graded,” Higgins said last week ahead of the Ohio State game. “I eventually want to feed my family with this football stuff, so every game is important.”

Higgins likely helped his case for eventually playing on Sundays when he made an impressive play on Ohio State star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in the first half of last Saturday’s game.

Higgins poked the ball loose as Smith was running after the catch. Then as the ball bounced several yards, Higgins hustled and recovered the ball despite three nearby OSU players also vying for it.

Sebastian Castro also showed his NFL potential in the first half when he perfectly picked off a pass intended for Ohio State’s other star wideout Emeka Egbuka. (He also had some help up front as Deontae Craig delivered pressure.)

The turnovers on the other side of the ball — three of them, all in the second half and all by quarterback Cade McNamara — however, proved to be the death knell in Iowa’s quest for an upset.

Here is a closer look at Iowa’s three costly turnovers after rewatching the Hawkeyes’ 35-7 loss to the third-ranked Buckeyes:

Cade McNamara’s first fumble

McNamara’s first turnover was on the first play of Iowa’s first drive after halftime.

McNamara stepped up from the pocket — not a huge surprise by itself considering how the pocket unfolded — as he appeared to be scanning the field. The why wasn’t an issue, but the how and where were issues.

As Iowa right guard Connor Colby blocked Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams — likely one of the best interior defensive linemen in next year’s draft class — Williams fell to the ground near right tackle Gennings Dunker’s legs.

That essentially freed defensive end Jack Sawyer to sneak up on McNamara’s right side. McNamara, presumably still looking for an option to throw, did not protect the ball. Sawyer poked the ball free from McNamara’s hand with ease.

Had McNamara stayed in the pocket a little longer, he could have at least dumped the pass to fullback Hayden Large, who was open a couple yards away from the line of scrimmage.

Why Cade McNamara’s interception wasn’t pass interference

McNamara’s interception was on a play where Iowa seemed to be banking on Reece Vander Zee beating his defender in one-on-one coverage on a 50-50 ball.

That type of play worked well against Minnesota. It’s a much bigger challenge, though, for Iowa’s true freshman wide receiver against Davison Igbinosun — a 2023 all-Big Ten honorable mention in his third year of college football.

Ighinosun was quite physical with Vander Zee, who fell to the ground before the interception. At first glance, it might look like he got away with defensive pass interference. The penalty did not apply, however, because the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage. (Pass interference is in effect until the ball “is touched by any player or an official,” according to the NCAA rule book.)

If the ball hadn’t been tipped and if the officials called pass interference, a disastrous outcome for McNamara and the offense could have actually been a positive play.

Cade McNamara’s other fumble

Ahead of McNamara’s second fumble of the game, Ohio State only sent a four-man rush.

But as McNamara stepped further into the pocket, Ohio State’s Ty Hamilton had a well-executed bull rush against Colby and was closing in on McNamara.

McNamara began his throwing motion despite Hamilton being within arm’s reach, and Hamilton unsurprisingly hit him hard enough for McNamara to lose control of the football. Ohio State recovered the fumble, which paved the way for another touchdown drive.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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