Stanley's notable achievements when things "got tough"...
Sophomore Season
Led Iowa back from a 10-pt 4th quarter deficit against ISU, threw game-tying TD pass with 1:09 left (admittedly, that was 99% Akrum Wadley) and threw game-winning TD pass to ISM in OT
Got a bowl win vs. BC on a sheet of ice
Junior Season
After D squandered a 15-pt lead to allow Nebraska to tie the game with 3:22 left, Stanley led Iowa down the field to get in position for the winning FG...the drive was mostly on the legs of Mekhi Sargent, but Stanley completed a 10 yard pass on 4th and 8 with 42 seconds left to set up the game winner.
Got a bowl win vs. one of the saltiest defenses a KF team has ever faced in #18 Miss St. We were completely incapable of running the ball (4 total yards, discounting sacks), and Stanley completed 67% for 214 yards and 3 TDs/1 int.
Senior Season
Beat ISU 18-17, leading the drive to take the lead in the 4th quarter (63%, 201 yds, no turnovers, rushing TD)
Beat Purdue even though the D gave up 200 yards receiving to David Bell...I know it was just Purdue, but they had our number at that point (70%, 260 yards, 0 TD/1 int)
Beat #7 Minnesota (9-0 at that point), 61%, 173 yards, 2 TD/0 int
Beat Nebbie on the road, got the ball in a tie-game with 32 seconds left. Completed two 22-yard completions and got up to clock the ball, setting up Duncan's game-winning FG and subsequent kiss to the crowd.
Ran an admittedly overrated #22 USC team out of the stadium in a bowl win to wrap up his career (67%, 213 yards, 2 TDs).
Summary
Stanley had a few real stinkers in his first season starting. After that, he lost some close games against good teams, just like Gronowski did this season. I am sure some will try to degrade Stanley's comeback wins vs. ISU because "that's just the Clones," but we should keep in mind that Gronowski was not able to pull off that feat this season. Also, Stanley beat 4 ranked teams: #3 OSU as a sophomore, #18 Miss St. as a junior, and #7 Minnesota and #22 USC as a senior. Gronowski did not beat a ranked team this year in 4 attempts.
As for the intangibles of being a "leader and locker-room guy who got tough when things get tough," I am quite certain Stanley's teammates would describe him as being exactly that. And while we could point out instances where Stanley made mistakes in big games, I could also point out plenty of plays that Gronowski could've made in those 4 losses this year.
If you stack their final seasons side-by-side (the truest comparison), they look eerily similar:
*Gronowski lost to 4 ranked teams, Stanley lost to 3 ranked teams (and beat 2).
*they both led their teams to memorable wins: Gronowski with comebacks against PSU and MSU (keep in mind, his early play in both of those games contributed to the need to comeback) and a beatdown of Nebby. Stanley with late go-ahead drives vs. ISU and Nebby, and with ranked wins against Minny and USC
*neither of them was good enough to lead Iowa to the special seasons that the Mt. Rushmore QBs were able to craft.
Bottom line, they were both really good Hawkeye QBs, and we were lucky to have them. I give Stanley the nod because he did it for us for 3 seasons, and he put up passing stats in big games that we haven't seen since. I also think anyone that played with BF as OC needs to get scored differently, and I think we are rating Gronowski too much on his last 1.2 games and not on his full season.
