Mississippi State Football: 3 reasons to watch 2019 Outback Bowl vs. Iowa

3. Solid quarterback matchup

The Outback Bowl features a respectable quarterback on both offenses. For Mississippi State, this comes in the form of Nick Fitzgerald, who will be playing in his final game as a Bulldog. The game will bring his three-year journey as a starting college quarterback to a conclusion.

Fitzgerald has put together a commendable senior season in which he has tossed for 1,615 yards for 15 touchdown passes.

His completion percentage hasn’t been stellar –– hovering around 53 percent –– but he has done enough to aid the Bulldogs’ offense.

One aspect of his game that certainly stands out especially for the position he plays is that he can be a threat in the running game.

Fitzgerald is the Bulldogs’ leading rusher and has totaled 1,018 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns while averaging more than five yards per carry this season.

Despite struggling with early turnover problems through interceptions, Fitzgerald had a great second half of the 2018 season.

He wasn’t picked off for the entirety of the month of November and has the opportunity to swing his momentum in the right direction.

In the last two games he’s played in, he was responsible for a total of eight touchdowns –– including a five-touchdown performance against Arkansas.

For Iowa, Nate Stanley has been a consistent figure in the Iowa offense. The junior has already eclipsed his personal best in passing yards and is three touchdowns shy of matching his career best in touchdown passes thrown.

While Fitzgerald functions as both a passer and a runner, Stanley plays more of a true pocket passer style. He has also performed well over Iowa’s most recent stretch of games –– throwing for a combined five touchdown passes and 300 yards.