Iowa Football: 5 reasons the Hawkeyes will beat Iowa State

AMES, IA - SEPTEMBER 9: Wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette #6 of the Iowa Hawkeyes pulls in the game winning touchdown pass as defensive back Brian Peavy #10 of the Iowa State Cyclones blocks in overtime play at Jack Trice Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 44-41 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

3. Nate Stanley’s arm

Both offenses will be directed by veteran quarterbacks, Kyle Kempt for Iowa State and Nate Stanley for Iowa. While Kempt did have the better accuracy stats in 2017, Stanley appears to have improved on accuracy, but unfortunately did not show in the stat book as Noah Fant dropped a perfectly thrown pass by Stanley on a vertical route and other receivers contributed to drops that should have been catches.

However, Stanley’s arm talent was on display quite a bit on Saturday as he showed the ability to make many different throws throughout the course of the game. A memorable one was a third-down conversion to tight end T.J. Hockenson that was rifled in before the defender could hit Hockenson as he bobbled it, but did regain control.

While Kempt does have the short and medium pass accuracy, Stanley has the arm talent to compete with it and has the ability to make throws Kempt cannot, such as the third-down conversion to Hockenson. While Kempt will likely not make many mistakes on Saturday, Stanley’s willingness to strike deep will be a huge difference for the Iowa offense.

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