The futility of the Iowa Hawkeyes' early game offense continues against Michigan State

The Iowa Hawkeyes' offense has struggled early in games all season, and that continued Saturday against the Michigan State Spartans.

Iowa took the lead in its opener against Michigan State with a three-pointer and a punt, something the Hawkeyes have done in all seven games so far this season.

Iowa is certainly not known as a good offensive club, but rather for its strong defense. However, the offense has improved significantly this season thanks to the excellent plays of running back Kaleb Johnson.

The problem is that the rest of Iowa's offense hasn't quite followed suit.

Quarterback Cade McNamara has thrown for less than 100 yards three times in his first six games this year, and he hasn't gotten much help from his wide receivers either.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has insisted he will not make a change at center, although some Hawkeyes fans have called for Brendan Sullivan to replace McNamara as the starter.

This is nothing new for Iowa.

The team has been working on putting together a competitive offense for quite some time, and while the Hawkeyes have been producing tight ends that are no one's business, they haven't been able to find a good quarterback or good receivers in quite some time.

Iowa actually has a solid offensive line, which has been instrumental in creating holes for Johnson at the helm. It's also done a good job of protecting McNamara, even though he hasn't held up his end of the bargain so far.