Iowa sophomore quarterback Nate Stanley has already passed test after test.

He (barely) beat Tyler Wiegers for the starting job during fall camp to become the face of the Hawkeye football program. Stanley also defeated Iowa’s rival, the Iowa State Cyclones, on the road in overtime. But come this Saturday, Sept. 23, he faces his biggest test to date.

Come this weekend, Stanley will take the field with his teammates to take on the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions underneath the lights of Kinnick Stadium. The game will be aired on ABC in the primetime slot, which means the nation’s eyes will be on him and the Hawkeyes.

This season, Penn State has been no less than phenomenal on offense and defense. Running back Saquon Barkley looks like the Heisman contender he was touted as this offseason, quarterback Trace McSorely has been effective and the Nittany Lion defense is only allowing 4.7 points per game through three games. So yes, that is truly phenomenal play.

Iowa is known to pulling up an upset or two during a night game at Kinnick. Last year, the Hawkeyes took do the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines. So it is possible college football will see the No. 4 team go down this weekend.

While it is certainly possible for Iowa to pull off the upset, it won’t have a chance to do so if Stanley does not play at the level he has so far this season.

Through three games, the once unproven Stanley has proved he is capable to be a good collegiate passer. With 1/4 of the year done, the Menomonie, Wisconsin native has completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 655 yards, 10 touchdowns and only one interception.

The reason why the Hawkeyes need Stanley to be his efficient self is because of two reasons. The first one is because the Penn State defense will more than likely stack the box against Iowa.

During the Kirk Ferentz era, the Hawkeyes have been a run dominant team. And this year is no different, as Iowa possesses arguably the second best running back in the B1G in Akrum Wadley.

Wadley is an explosive playmaker who can tear up any defense. Last year against the Wolverines, who possessed a strong defense last season, the senior back ran for 115 yards on 23 carries (an average of five yards per carry) and caught five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. And this season, Iowa has a talented backup in James Butler, who ran for 1,300 plus yards last year at Nevada.

The second reason is because the Nittany Lions have yet to be tested through the air this season.

In Penn State’s three games, it has allowed 86 passing yards against Akron, 187 versus Pittsburgh and 170 against Georgia State and no touchdowns. On the year, Stanley has averaged 218.3 yards per game (sixth in the B1G) and has a passing efficiency of 165.1 (fourth in the conference). The Hawkeyes will need that efficient playmaking ability from Stanley Saturday night.

Before his emergence this season, Stanley was a modest 3-star prospect coming out of high school, the 540th ranked player in the Class of 2015. He did not even play his junior year and ran the Wing T as a senior when he did. But Stanley has that it factor that signal callers must have–a sort of cool but upbeat presences, the easy fighter-pilot sort of mindset–to pull off an upset like defeating No. 4 Penn State.

 

Stanley’s three game accomplishments are nothing to brush off, especially since the wide receiver was a big question mark for Iowa entering this season. So, the first three games allowed Stanley to build chemistry with his pass catchers. However, the defenses he played may have made him look better than he might actually be.

North Texas and Iowa State’s pass defense rank No. 104 and 11 respectively. Penn State’s is No. 19. Despite that, the Hawkeyes need the Stanley that showed out against Wyoming ,Iowa State, and North Texas.

If Iowa wins Saturday in Kinnick stadium, it will because of Stanley’s arm. He will be the difference maker in this game.

Stanley has passed every test up to this point. Now, it is time to see if he can pass this one.