Iowa football: Nate Stanley has 3 great quarterback battles looming
By Andrew Wade
Iowa football player Nate Stanley is looking to prove he’s the best QB in the B1G. He’ll need to win these three QB battles to help convince the masses.
Quarterback battles are a huge draw for college and professional football. Two talented guys at the game’s marquee and most important position can make for a fun battle for any football fan. For Iowa football fans, they’re going to be privy to a few great quarterback battles when senior quarterback Nate Stanley takes the field.
From a quarterback perspective, its an opportunity to compete against another great quarterback in the same environment, and it can go a long ways in forming the opinion of your quarterback play. Do you rise in big-game situations? How much do you want to be the best?
With high expectations for Stanley entering year three with Iowa football team, this is an ideal team to show what he can do against some of the other top quarterbacks in the nation.
And according to Athlon Sports, Iowa football fans are getting 3 of the top 10 quarterback battles in the Big Ten this year so buckle up Hawkeyes. Here’s the three:
4. Shea Patterson (Michigan) vs Nate Stanley: This is a battle of the top-rated Big Ten senior quarterbacks (depending on where you slot Brian Lewerke). Stanley is the more natural passer but Patterson is a much better athlete.
5. Brock Purdy (Iowa State) vs Nate Stanley: Who would have thought there would be a great quarterback battle brewing in Ames, but that’s exactly what we have here. Purdy is a rising star and sometimes even ranked ahead of Stanley in overall QB ratings. This game is one of the most highly anticipated non-conference games this season.
8. Adrian Martinez (Nebraska) vs Nate Stanley: If both of these teams are ranked heading into the final Big Ten regular-season game, this will be huge. The big storylines likely heading into the game is can Adrian Martinez find a hole in a great Iowa football team defense and can Nate Stanley poke apart a relatively weak Nebraska defense in a hostile environment.
What I find interesting about this picks for some of the top quarterback battles in the Big Ten is that all of these are on the road for the Iowa football team, and each of these teams is expected to be a top-25 team throughout the season.
These games are opportunities for Nate Stanley to show what he is made of in big-time situations against top-ranked teams in hostile environments against another gunslinger on the other side of the field.
Will he rise to the occasion or crumble?