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Nate Stanley Leads Iowa to Holiday Bowl Win over USC After Kedon Slovis' Injury
December 28, 2019
The No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes punctuated their seventh straight winning season with a 49-24 Holiday Bowl victory over the No. 22 USC Trojans at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego on Friday night.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair until Iowa went up 28-14 with 1:18 left in the second quarter when senior quarterback Nate Stanley hit receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a 12-yard touchdown. Iowa hit a field goal before heading to the locker room to cut the deficit to 11.
The Trojans appeared to shift momentum to begin the second half when running back Stephen Carr ran in a two-yard score to help make it 28-24. USC then recovered the ensuing onside kick, but freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis exited with what Fox Sports 1's Jenny Taft reported to be shoulder and elbow sprains (h/t The Athletic's Antonio Morales).
Iowa ran away with the game from there, forcing three fumbles and returning an interception for a touchdown.
Each squad entered Friday night on a three-game winning streak. The Hawkeyes owned the most impressive win, though, as they upset a then-undefeated Minnesota 23-19 on Nov. 16. Iowa improved to 10-3 Friday, marking the program's first campaign with double-digit wins since 2015, while USC dropped to 8-5.
Notable Performances
Iowa
QB Nate Stanley: 213 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT
RB Tyler Goodson: 18 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette: 2 catches, 46 yards, 1 TD
WR Brandon Smith: 4 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD
USC
QB Kedon Slovis: 260 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT
QB Matt Fink: 74 yards
RB Vavae Malepeai: 8 carries, 37 yards; 4 catches, 11 yards, 1 TD
RB Stephen Carr: 5 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: 9 catches, 163 yards
WR Michael Pittman Jr.: 6 catches, 53 yards
Nate Stanley Goes Out on Top
Stanley's performance bolstered his standing in Hawkeyes history. According to Taft, Stanley has the second-most passing yards (8,297) and second-most wins (27) of any Iowa quarterback:
Against USC, Stanley took full advantage of an 84th-ranked defensive unit:
Stanley got help from the running game and special teams. Smith-Marsette scored on a six-yard run and 98-yard kickoff return in addition to his 12-yard catch. Running backs Goodson and Tyrone Tracy Jr. each recorded a rushing touchdown too.
Plenty of people were pumped by the Hawkeyes' performance, including San Francisco 49ers tight end and Iowa alumnus George Kittle as well as PGA golfer Zach Johnson:
But the lasting story will be how this outing punctuated Stanley's collegiate career. He improved to 3-0 in bowl games to go along with 3-0 records against Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska.
USC Comeback Derailed by Slovis' Injury
The Trojans were surging when Slovis suffered a sprained shoulder and elbow. USC had just scored a touchdown to cut Iowa's lead to 28-24 at the 13:29 mark in the third quarter.
Matt Fink replaced Slovis, who exited with 260 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on 22-of-30 passing and did not return:
USC's offense stalled for the rest of the night, as its remaining drives resulted in three fumbles, two punts, one missed field goal and one pick-six. That might have had more to do with Iowa's defense than Fink, though. The redshirt junior had shown he could be effective in previous appearances this season with 574 yards, four touchdowns and four picks to go with a 65.7 completion percentage.
Fink did not do himself any favors in the Holiday Bowl:
The drop-off from Slovis to Fink was clear:
That said, this loss falls more squarely on the USC defense. The Hawkeyes entered this matchup with three touchdown drives exceeding six minutes in their previous 12 games combined and put together three such drives against the Trojans.
The faint silver lining for USC is that Slovis will return next season. However, the Trojans will lose Pittman and could lose several more key offensive players to the 2020 NFL draft. What's more, 247Sports has USC's 2020 recruiting class ranked 78th in the FBS and last in the Pac-12.