Sept. 30, 2010
Hawkeye Football Player Interviews
- Iowa Football Game Day Central
- Cast Your O’Brien Quarterback Award
- Vote for R. Stanzi as a Premier Player
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
- gohawks.com
By RICHIE ZAWISTOWSKI
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The tale of the two starting quarterbacks for the University of Iowa and Penn State might be a study in polar opposites.
Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi is a fifth-year senior who will go into Saturday’s contest having 14 starts in Big Ten Conference play under his belt. Stanzi has compiled a 10-4 record against Big Ten competition, and has gone a perfect 2-0 against Penn State along the way.
Now flip the script for Penn State.
True freshman Rob Bolden will be under center for the Nittany Lions taking part in his first career Big Ten game — under the lights at Kinnick Stadium. Bolden comes into the game with 823 passing yards, but he has thrown five interceptions against just three touchdowns.
The Hawkeye defense — ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense through four games — is not taking Bolden lightly.
“He’s a good player or he wouldn’t be there playing, he wouldn’t be starting,” said UI strong safety Tyler Sash. “Give him all that credit. It’s still football. If the coaches at Penn State didn’t have all the confidence in the world in him, they wouldn’t just throw him out there. I’ve seen on film he can make plays running, he has a good arm, and he can hurt you each and every way.”
However, Bolden is a freshman who has turned the ball over five times in just four games.
It was not long ago that the Iowa offense knew all about interceptions. After throwing 15 picks in 2009, Stanzi has blossomed in 2010. The senior has thrown for 999 yards while completing 67 percent of his passes. More impressively, Stanzi has tossed nine touchdowns and only one interception. The sole miscue was a good throw that went through an Iowa receiver’s hands and was then picked off.
While Stanzi might have forced passes last season, that is hopefully a thing of the past.
“Last year I definitely made my fair share of dumb decisions, because that’s what they are,” said Stanzi. “Vice-versa, this year they’re being called smart decisions. So I’m trying to take a step back, not do everything and let our offensive guys do what they have to do; just do my job, which is getting them the ball if possible, and if not, check down or check to a run, and live with it. If we have to punt, then punt and let our defense stop them.”
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“He’s a good player or he wouldn’t be there playing, he wouldn’t be starting. Give him all that credit. It’s still football. If the coaches at Penn State didn’t have all the confidence in the world in him, they wouldn’t just throw him out there. I’ve seen on film he can make plays running, he has a good arm, and he can hurt you each and every way.”
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Turnovers might have the highest correlation to the Hawkeyes winning football games. Under head coach Kirk Ferentz, Iowa is 49-12 when it has a positive turnover margin. Conversely, Iowa is just 15-30 when it loses the turnover battle.
The resounding theme from the Hawkeyes regarding the stellar play from Stanzi in 2010 has been better decision-making. Guard Julian Vandervelde said that it was obvious that Stanzi focused on eliminating bad decisions in the offseason, and took extra reps with receivers in the summer to cut down on interceptions.
Also, the experience that Stanzi has gained from his time on the field cannot be overlooked.
“With experience, obviously you hope to be able to progress faster, see things a little bit easier, kind of slow the game down as they say,” said Stanzi. “Me seeing the field better will help out the rest of our offense since I’m the guy who’s going to have to make the checks and make the right throws. If I’m not seeing things well it’s going to be hard for our offense to move down the field.”
With Bolden’s lack of experience, Iowa’s defense will certainly try to keep the freshman signal-caller from seeing things well.
“I’m sure we’ll have a few wrinkles here and there, and with our front four bringing pressure every play, hopefully that can throw him off his game a little,” said Sash.
One of the men bringing the pressure, defensive tackle Christian Ballard, said the Iowa defense has to focus in on how to make Bolden uncomfortable, and that it will be a tough task.
However even if Iowa does bring pressure, the Hawkeyes have to be careful not to let Bolden use his legs to gain yardage. Sash suggested Bolden might be more mobile than former Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark.
Clark lost his career starts against Iowa in 2008 and ’09, and both Hawkeye victories saw Iowa defeat a top 4-ranked Penn State team. The growing rivalry between the two teams adds icing to the cake for Saturday’s contest.
“It puts a bigger target on our back,” said Sash. “Knowing Penn State is coming in here and they’re going to be chomping at the bit to play us. I know they’re excited, we’re excited. It’s going to be a 60-minute game. Every time you play Penn State it goes all four quarters. “
For four quarters on Saturday, the Hawkeyes will have the most experience at quarterback.