“The second team quarterback is always the most popular guy on the team”: a phrase popularly attributed to Archie Manning, but which is so widely accepted as football gospel that it may as well have been chiseled into stone by Walter Camp himself. Many Hawkeye fans have lived this axiom over the past few years. Spencer Petras’ inconsistent play regularly left fans wanting more from the quarterback position, and a contingent of Iowa fans took to calling for backup Alex Padilla to supplant him as the starter. When Padilla was underwhelming in relief of Petras, some fans championed the third-string QB getting a shot at the starting job. Familiarity has a way of breeding contempt, especially amidst offensive struggles like those the Hawkeyes have endured. When the offense fails to produce, the starting quarterback tends to be the easiest target for fan ire, fair or otherwise.
This New Year’s Eve, Hawkeye fans are finally going to get their wish. Iowa will be without both Petras and Padilla for its Music City Bowl matchup against Kentucky, with the former quarterback set to miss time due to a shoulder injury and the latter entering the transfer portal. Instead, Iowa will turn to 3rd and 4th string freshmen quarterbacks Joey Labas and Carson May, who have played a combined zero snaps of college football. It’s anyone’s guess whether Iowa’s offense will look better or worse with a green-eared quarterback under center, but at least it will give Hawkeye fans something different to watch than what they’ve seen over the past few years.
Iowa fans have plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about the state of the quarterback position this bowl season. Whoever gets the starting nod will have to contend with one of the nation’s top pass defenses. The Wildcats have allowed the seventh-fewest yards per game in college football this season with 173.4 per contest, are allowing opposing QBs to post only a 116.56 passer rating, and have more interceptions on the…