Sports

LUKE MEREDITH AP Sports Writer

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Don’t like the way Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi is playing? Give it a little time.

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Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi throws a pass against Indiana last Saturday.

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At times, Stanzi can look awful. Like last week, when he threw four interceptions in the third quarter against Indiana to help put the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes in a 10-point hole.

Then there is Good Ricky, the guy who bailed Iowa out by tossing two long TDs on consecutive throws to give his team a lead it would not relinquish in beating the Hoosiers 42-24.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has long since tired of defending Stanzi and he never considered pulling him against Indiana despite all those picks.

Ferentz views Stanzi as the resilient leader of a team that keeps finding ways to win, and though Stanzi’s individual numbers aren’t pretty — like the Hawkeyes — it’s tough to dispute Ferentz’s belief in him.

Stanzi, a 6-foot-4 junior from Mentor, Ohio, is 17-3 as a starter and has led the Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) to 13 straight wins, the second-longest streak in the country, heading into Saturday’s game against Northwestern (5-4, 2-3).

“He does have a rare ability, when he struggles, to come right back and just keep pushing forward, much like a relief pitcher,” Ferentz said. “If you’re in a high-risk position, you have to have that capability.”

There’s no Heisman Trophy talk around Stanzi, not with all the close games, a 56.4 percent completion rate and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 14-to-13. But he has shown composure leading the Hawkeyes to the best start in school history.

Stanzi suffered through his fair share of criticism this season and has yet to blink. He was much derided during the early portion of the season for throwing three interceptions that were brought back for touchdowns — he was called “Rick-Six” for a while — but he bounced back with pick-free games in wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Then came the third quarter against the Hoosiers.

Every possession Iowa had in the quarter ended with a Stanzi interception, as pass after pass was battered by a stiff and swirling wind. But Iowa’s defense picked Stanzi up by allowing the Hoosiers to score just three points off those four picks, and his teammates made it a point to encourage him on the sidelines.

Once the fourth quarter began, Stanzi responded like he has all season.

On his first pass of the final quarter, Stanzi calmly rolled out on a play-action rollout and hit Marvin McNutt in stride. McNutt dashed 92 yards for a touchdown.

On his next snap, Stanzi again went to the play action before stepping up in the pocket and floating a perfect pass downfield to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, who cut through Indiana’s secondary for a 66-yard score to put Iowa ahead 28-24.

“When you look at your team, you don’t want to let them down. Any time a guy makes a mistake, he knows that the team is behind him to go back and correct that mistake,” Stanzi said.