Is there a more frustrating player in the country than Ricky Stanzi? There might be, but Iowa’s junior quarterback is definitely near the top of the list.
In a way, you could say that Stanzi is the epitome of the 9-0 Hawkeyes. Not always pretty, but effective. Ugly as sin one moment, amazing the next. Down, but never out. And most of all, a winner.
That was never more evident than yesterday, when Stanzi threw five interceptions – four of them in the third quarter – against upset-minded Indiana. As a result, with 15 minutes left, Stanzi was in the midst of a full-fledged Halloween nightmare, and Iowa‘s BCS and national title hopes were on the verge of being dashed in unlikely and embarrassing fashion.
If not for Indiana’s failure to take full advantage of those five interceptions, Iowa would’ve entered the fourth quarter in a much deeper hole than 24-14. However, the drives after those five interceptions actually netted more points for Iowa (7) than Indiana (3). Following Stanzi’s second third-quarter pick, Indiana was on the verge of taking a 28-7 lead, but thanks to an 86-yard interception return for a score (how fitting, huh?), Iowa was only down 21-14.
Stanzi followed that bailout with two more interceptions, but the defense continued to hold Indiana at bay long enough for him to finally wake up just in time and turn the tide with back-to-back tosses…with a little help from a couple of speedy receivers and poor tackling by Indiana.
First was a pass that could’ve been little more than a first down to get Iowa out of the shadow of their end zone that Marvin McNutt turned into a 92-yard touchdown that cut the deficit to 24-21 with 13:03 left.
Then, following a three-and-out on Indiana’s next possession, Stanzi stepped up and fired a strike to the right sideline to his other big-play receiver, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who evaded defenders and streaked into the end zone to put Iowa ahead for the first time. Opportunity lost for Indiana, redemption gained for Stanzi.
From there, Brandon Wegher sealed the deal with two touchdown runs, and the final 42-24 scoreline looked more like what you’d have expected coming into the game.
And for Stanzi, it was the second straight week and just another occasion this season in which he showed the depths of his intestinal fortitude.
Last week against Michigan State, Stanzi was ineffective for much of the game, and entering Iowa’s final two drives, he was only 5 of 16 for 46 yards, and Iowa had mustered only six points in 50+ minutes. A 32-yard completion to Johnson-Koulianos set up a field goal that put Iowa up 9-6, and after the Spartans had taken a 13-9 lead with just 1:37 left, Stanzi calmly drove down the field.
Though he was only 4 of 9 on that final drive, completions of 15, 21, and 16 yards put Iowa in position for a game-winning score, and that fourth completion was the most important one of the season (to that point), a 7-yard touchdown toss to McNutt with no time left to give Iowa a 15-13 win.
Against Michigan, Stanzi’s first pass of the night was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Donovan Warren to put the Wolverines up 7-0 only 20 seconds into the game, but he rebounded immediately, leading Iowa to a touchdown on the very next drive, and Iowa went on to win 30-28.
It doesn’t hurt to have some backup like Stanzi does with Iowa’s defense and special teams, who’ve made many big plays this season, from the two blocked field goals against Northern Iowa, a blocked punt for a touchdown and three picks of Daryll Clark at Penn State, a game-saving interception against Michigan, a dominant defensive performance at Wisconsin, to yesterday’s stops and the big pick-six by Sash.
But there’s no doubt that the guy has the right stuff mentally, as does the rest of the Iowa team. After throwing four interceptions in one game, much less in one quarter, quite a few quarterbacks would be irreparably shaken.
Not Stanzi. He hung in there, he weathered the storm, and once again, he stepped up when his team needed him to. Resilience, moxie, guts, whatever you want to call it, the kid’s got it.
As a result, Iowa’s on a collision course with Ohio State for the Big Ten title, and their quest for even more is alive and well for at least another week.
So how much more of this can Iowa fans take? As long as the end results continue to be Ws, four more games worth sounds about right.
