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Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley has been phenomenal in his first year starting for the Hawkeyes. On the year, Stanley has completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 1,703 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions.
While he has been impressive, Stanley faces his biggest challenge to date this Saturday as the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes come to Kinnick Stadium for a late afternoon game.
This season, Ohio State’s defense has progressively gotten better, especially in the run defense department. Currently, the Buckeyes are only allowing 2.9 yards per carry. That number should scare Iowa fans.
It is no secret that the Hawkeyes love to run the ball. In fact, Iowa runs the ball on first down on nearly 2/3’s of first downs.
Last weekend, Ohio State held Penn State best running back Saquon Barkley to a mere 44 yards on 21 carries. That is an average 2.1 yards per carry. And that was against Barkley running the ball and he is seen as the best back in all of college football. So, it is doubtful that Iowa back Akrum Wadley will do much on the ground on Saturday.
With that said, that is where Stanley comes into play.
Come Saturday, if Iowa wants to defeat Ohio State, Stanley will need to be at the top of his game.
Stanley is smart with the football, he takes care of the ball and takes what the defense gives him. The sophomore is the prototypical Hawkeye quarterback. Just take a look at this play against the No. 15 Iowa State Cyclones earlier this season:
Stanley faced pressure but threw the ball accurately to his tight end, who rumbled down the sideline to the end zone.
This Ohio State defense is as talented as Iowa will face this year. The unit is currently allowing 18.2 points and 302 yards per game, which are good for 18th and 2nd in the nation, respectively. However, the Buckeyes’ secondary is the weak link of Ohio State’s defense
The Buckeyes’ young secondary has given up 6.3 yards per attempt (11.2 yards per completion), although they’ve snagged about an interception per game.
Although Stanley could take advantage of Ohio State’s secondary, there are some downsides to his play.
One of the critiques one might find with Stanley’s play would be that he was regularly missing the deep ball. However, last week he was able to connect on the touchdown pass to tight end Noah Fant. Getting some big time plays going against the Buckeye defense will be critical.
Another critique of Stanley’s is that he has slippery hands. Though he’s cut down on the fumbling, it’s still a concern, as his 4 fumbles lost (6 total) rank 5th worse in the nation. So, the more Nate has the ball in his hands, it’s important he avoids the stupid mistakes. Plus, Stanley needs to be more aware in the pocket this weekend.
Ohio State’s defensive line features players like Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, and Tyquan Lewis. Those three players can easily disrupt a pocket passer’s (like Stanley) rhythm. However, Iowa could max-protect with a few of their tight ends against Ohio State to try and give Stanley extra time in the pocket to throw.
As mentioned earlier, Iowa likes to only pass on 1/3 of first downs. That number will need to be pushed much closer to 50 percent, not only because it is very successful but also because it will improve Iowa’s already diminished prospects in the run game.
Ohio State is coming down from an emotional high after claiming a comeback victory over the Nittany Lions. However in college football, especially in the B1G – weird things happen, especially on the road. If Stanley can manage the game, the pocket, and get the ball into the hands of Iowa’s playmakers, the Hawkeyes might just have a shot to take down the Buckeyes.