Iowa Football: 5 reasons Iowa will be better than Iowa State in 2018

1. Quarterback Play

Last year, both teams success was heavily dictated by quarterback play. Iowa was led by true sophomore Nate Stanley who had highs and lows as many sophomore quarterbacks have. His highs included five touchdown performances against Iowa State and Ohio State, but his lows included 8 for 24 passing against Wisconsin. But when Stanley is on, he is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the Big Ten, possessing a huge arm and improving accuracy.

Iowa State saw a major quarterback change halfway through the 2017 season as Jacob Park left the team following the Cyclones loss to Texas. Matt Campbell then inserted 5th-year senior Kyle Kempt for the following game against Oklahoma, and led them to a historic 38-31 upset of the Sooners. Kempt never relinquished the starting quarterback job and became the ultimate game manager, guiding the Cyclones to their first winning season since 2009.

There has been plenty of debate over which quarterback is better throughout the off-season. While Kempt has a better completion percentage, I tend to believe that is thanks to having great like Allen Lazard and Marchie Murdock bail him out from time to time. Stanley also threw for more touchdowns than Kempt and had more passing yards. Iowa seems to have the edge in the quarterback battle.