Iowa football fans have been patiently waiting to find out their next starting quarterback for months. 

No one expected Kirk Ferentz and Co. to name Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski the starter in mid-July, but the hope was that the picture would become clear in the final weeks leading up to Saturday's season opener against Northern Illinois (3:15 p.m., BTN) 

Iowa media day rolled around on Aug. 14. No answers.  

Kids' Day took place the following day. There was a clear winner, but again no answers from Ferentz. 

Ferentz met with the media for a brief post-fall camp discussion a few weeks later. No answers. 

Then came game week, where we were assured to hear one final update before actual football could be played. Ferentz's first weekly press conference of the season yielded an answer - sort of. 

The Hawkeyes plan to make a decision on which quarterback will take the first snap from scrimmage by Friday afternoon, but Saturday's tilt against the Huskies will be a trial run for Brown and Hecklinski.

If an obvious winner emerges on Saturday, Iowa will declare a full-time starter. But if the contest doesn't yield any promising results, the Hawkeyes will continue the intense competition further into the season until a starter can be determined. 

It's not uncommon to see some major programs extend a battle like this a few weeks into the season, but Ferentz has a very, very poor track record of doing this during his 27-year career in Iowa City. 

The first major occurrence came in the 2008 season, where Jake Christensen and Ricky Stanzi battled for the starting job. Ferentz named Stanzi the starter after two weeks, but the infrequent reps to begin the season likely contributed to Iowa's three-game losing streak midway through that year. 

But that's all I can tell you about that season. I was only four years old back then, but I can take you to another Iowa quarterback controversy that happened six years later - the infamous C.J. Beathard/Jake Rudock story from 2014. 

Though 12 years have passed since then (gulp), the outcome is still very fresh in everyone's minds. The details are simple: Hawkeye fans begged for Beathard to be the starter before that season even began, but Ferentz mostly stuck with the inconsistent Rudock for the season. 

It took a 7-6 campaign and TaxSlayer Bowl before Ferentz relented and named Beathard the starter very early in the 2015 offseason. We all know what happened during that ensuing season. 

There hasn't been a consensus favorite amongst Iowa fans to be under center in 2026, but at some point that's going to be the case. Whether Brown or Hecklinski emerges from the race is irrelevant, but the Hawkeyes need to find their guy after the Northern Illinois game. 

Some could argue that Iowa could beat a new-look Iowa State team at home by rotating quarterbacks, but I again point to that 2014 season.

The storyline feels very similar to 2026. Iowa entered its Week 3 showdown against Iowa State as a heavy favorite at home, but a putrid showing against Ball State the week prior didn't offer much promise. 

Rudock and Co. couldn't get anything going against the Cyclone defense, and Iowa State escaped town with a stunning 20-17 victory on a last-second field goal. The Cyclones went winless in the Big 12 and finished 2-10 that year, so it's safe to say that may go down as one of the most embarrassing losses of the Ferentz era. 

Now, there wasn't a question as who would start that game, but the quarterback controversy that dominated the entire 2014 season might as well've turned it into such. 

Flash-forward to 2026, and there's a chance Iowa State could be close to the level it was in 2014. New head coach Jimmy Rogers has hyped his team up at every junction he can get, but getting an almost entirely brand-new roster in full gear for a Week 2 game Kinnick Stadium could be a chore. 

Discussing a Week 2 contest before the season opener is played is slightly ridiculous, but here's the bottom line: Iowa needs to have a clear-cut starter before the Iowa State game, not after it. 

The Hawkeyes are a young team that needs to build continuity before a gauntlet stretch to open Big Ten play. There's simply no need for another Beathard/Rudock controversy in 2026. 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at [email protected]