Iowa football: Nate Stanley put together an incredible performance

Iowa football quarterback Nate Stanley has been criticized repeatedly, but despite this, he played one of the best games of his career vs Minnesota.

Nate Stanley didn’t light up the Minnesota defense for 333 yards as he did against Iowa State back in 2017, nor did he throw for 6 touchdowns as he did last year against Indiana. Statistically speaking, it was a pretty average game for the Iowa football team’s starting quarterback, but personally, I think it may have been one of the best performances of his Hawkeye career.

In yesterday’s victory over Minnesota, Stanley completed just 14 passes on 23 attempts for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns. His QBR was a pretty solid 81.3, which is the second-highest of the season for the senior signal-caller.

If you factor in multiple drops by Iowa wide receivers, these statistics would have been improved, but not to the point that his stat line would stand out to the average fan who didn’t catch the game.

For those of you watching the game, you likely saw what I am talking about.

Stanley isn’t the most mobile of players nor is he the most accurate thrower (as evidenced by the overthrow of Ihmir Smith-Marsette on a sure touchdown), but he did what he needed to do to win the game for the Iowa football team yesterday.

On a 4th and 1 attempt early in the first quarter, Nate Stanley barreled through the line for the first down on a drive that would ultimately end in a touchdown.

Multiple times throughout the game, he managed to extend the play long enough to complete a pass, and even on a read-option end-around, he picked up five yards within the red zone.

What stood out most to me though was the 3rd and 2 play with just under 10 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. Stanley scrambled to his right before deciding to tuck it in and run up the sideline. As a Minnesota defender closed in on him, I had the inkling that he might just go out of bounds a yard short.

Nope.

Not last night. Not in Nate Stanley’s final game against Minnesota. Instead, he put a slick side step move on the defender and rolled over the defender for the first down on a drive that would finish with the final points of the night for Iowa.

Stanley may not be the most accurate, and he hasn’t won a ton of big games (which in itself is frustrating), but that kids heart and effort is second to none. That one play, to me, meant so much more than anything else Stanley did last night.

Add that to his mostly stellar play, and I think Stanley’s performance was one of the best in his three-year career with the Hawks. And it came at a great time with undefeated Minnesota in town.