Oxygen is sparse in Iowa City right now. With No. 14 Iowa traveling to Ann Arbor to take on No. 19 Michigan this weekend, every Hawkeye fan has taken a deep breath, pursed their lips and is walking around with air-filled cheeks until Saturday afternoon.

The reason behind the nerves heading into a top 25 B1G matchup — outside of the usual factors — may rest under center. Fans have been waiting for Nate Stanley to have “that” moment.

“That” moment refers to those handful of games Stanley has endured throughout his first two years as a starting quarterback for the Hawkeyes. A few times in his career, he’s left people scratching their heads, wondering what they saw. People sometimes ask which version of Stanley they expect to see on any given Saturday, the good or the bad.

It’s been four games in 2019, but the good Stanley is the only one who has shown up. He’s one of just two B1G quarterbacks who hasn’t thrown an interception yet — Ohio State’s Justin Fields being the other. Stanley has thrown for 965 yards and eight touchdowns, running in one additional score, ironically the only touchdown the Hawkeyes scored against Iowa State.

So far, there’s been no trace of the bad version of Stanley. So far, it’s been candy and nuts for the Hawkeyes.

As well as Stanley has played through the first five weeks of the season, though, there’s still this major test that awaits. Traveling to Ann Arbor to play a ranked Michigan team, easily the toughest team Iowa has played to date. In his career, these aren’t the type of situations Stanley has handled very well.

Stanley is 0-4 as a starter against ranked opponents on the road. The numbers he’s put up aren’t much better. In those four games, he’s completing fewer than 45 percent of his passes and has thrown just one touchdown. It’s somewhat surprising Iowa lost three of those games by just one score.

Year Opponent  Comp/Att Yards    TDs   INTs Outcome
2017  #15 Michigan St.      16/31     197       0       o   Loss, 17-10
2017  #17 Northwestern      19/33    223       1       1   Loss, 17-10
2017  #7 Wisconsin       8/24     41       0       1   Loss, 38-14
2018  #17 Penn St.      18/49    205       0       2   Loss, 30-24

 

Three of those performances came in 2017, his first year as a starter. Last year’s game against Penn State ended in aggravating fashion, with Stanley throwing an interception while inside the Nittany Lions’ 5-yard line late in the game.

Do those four losses fall solely on the shoulders of Stanley? Absolutely not. But as a B1G quarterback, you’re going to burdened with most of the blame.

Stanley’s career against ranked opponents in general hasn’t been great, either. In nine games, he boasts a 2-7 record. He most notably led the Hawkeyes to a 55-24 win over Ohio State in 2017, throwing five touchdown passes in the upset win.

Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

In last year’s Outback Bowl, Stanley threw three touchdown passes and totaled 214 yards on a Mississippi State defense that clamped down some of the very best offenses in the SEC. The Hawkeyes downed the Bulldogs 27-22.

Unfortunately, those aren’t the moments people are remembering right now, and why all of the oxygen in Iowa City is currently being stored in the lungs of Hawkeye fans. They’re thinking about the 41-yard performance against Wisconsin, or the late interception against Penn State.

That’s why Saturday feels like a career-defining opportunity for Stanley. He’ll be remembered as a fine quarterback in Iowa history, regardless of the outcome against Michigan. He’s earned that respect. After all, Stanley is:

  • 9-0 in non-conference regular season games
  • 2-0 in bowl games
  • 7-0* against Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska (*still games vs. Minnesota & Nebraska this season)
  • 21-9 as Iowa’s starting quarterback

Those are all significant accomplishments. But he’d still carry that stigma with him that he could never win the big game, or that he could never do it outside of Kinnick Stadium.

A win on Saturday, along with a performance similar to what we’ve seen through the first four weeks of the season, and he’d detach himself from that characterization. Beating Michigan in the Big House is kind of a big deal, especially when it keeps you in the running for a B1G title.

There’d be a lot more confidence in Iowa City in games against No. 12 Penn State and No. 8 Wisconsin, too. Oxygen wouldn’t be quite as hard to come by.

Coming into the season, it felt like the same question kept being asked, “when would Nate Stanley have ‘that’ game?” For Stanley’s sake, hopefully “that” game is reminiscent of the Ohio State or Mississippi State games than anything else.