Steele Jantz

Steele Jantz was the most talked about person in the state of Iowa over the weekend.

If the Iowa State quarterback continues to perform like he did against Iowa Saturday, Jantz can probably run for mayor of Ames too.

The California junior college transfer completed 25 of 37 passes for 279 yards and he threw for four touchdowns. He added 42 yards rushing on 16 carries. Jantz was the main reason the Cyclones defeated the Hawkeyes 44-41 in three overtimes.

Iowa struggles against multi-gifted quarterbacks and Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz admitted Iowa “had no answer” for Jantz. Iowa was running after Jantz most of the afternoon and the junior made plays—sometimes out of nothing.

Jantz’s success somewhat overshadowed a game that was a heavyweight fight especially in overtime. Both teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtimes, but Iowa settled for a field goal in the third one. Iowa State didn’t settle. James White’s running touchdown from about eight yards triggered the Cyclone celebration.

Iowa fans are probably still scratching their heads over their team’s conservative playing calling. Tied with about one minute left in the game and two timeouts, the Hawkeyes chose to run the clock out rather than try for a score. Then in the third overtime, they elected to attempt the field goal instead of trying for a first down with only one yard to go.

But back to Jantz. The guy is simply magical. Two weeks in a row (the first against Northern Iowa) he directs came-from-behind victories. The guy can play quarterback. He makes you think Iowa State has a chance in every game it plays.

Jantz is made of steele and Iowa State supports a 2-0 record to prove it.