A lot of folks here have offered the opinion that (assumedly because of his stats) Nateski should be considered one of the greats at least as far as Hawkeye QBs go.
Others have said that Kirk Jr. has started to "turn things around" and that he should be given a bunch more time to try to produce results.
I saw some stats on twitter lately that have made me step back and try to look at this as objectively as possible.
BF has been the OC for two and a half years, and Nate has been the starter that entire time. In that span we've played 23 conference games. Conference games, no matter what anyone says, are the only thing that matter to Iowa football, because it's the conference record that determines whether you play in the Big Ten title game, and subsequently whether you get into the CFP (lol). Games against Miami (OH), North Texas, etc. are ridiculous to consider; bowl games are strictly for funsies and don't mean dick except to players, which I understand.
So what would be considered a "good win" in conference? For argument's sake, let's say a win against a team with a record greater than .500 in conference. That obviously indicates a team that wins more conference games than it loses, and is a team that should be tough to beat.
Since BF took over in 2017, we are 1 for 11 against teams that finished the season with an above .500 conference record. We have won exactly ONE big game in the last two and a half years. I included this year's games against Michigan and PSU because it looks like Michigan will be above .500 and PSU already is. And before anyone goes and says the defense is part of it too...that's a ridiculous thing to even consider. Iowa was 17th in the country in points allowed in '17, 11th in 2018, and they sit at 3rd in the nation right now.
That's
one game in the last two and a half years against a good conference opponent. The teams the Hawks have beat since September of '17 have a combined record of 32-73.
Brian has had a pretty good period of time to start winning games that count and he's completely flopped just about every chance he's had. Stanley also shares part of that (although I'd say a smaller part), and he's likewise had tons of chances to make big games happen but didn't pull it out. Bad OLs are part of the equation, but guys like CJ have had equally bad lines at different times and had no where near the WR talent that Stanley has. Regardless of where his yards and TDs turn out, I don't think anyone should go rushing to put him up there with Long, Banks, Tate, or Stanzi. How long will it take before people can admit that these two choke in every single meaningful game?
Is this seriously the guy you want running the show for the next 25 years?