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Ricky Stanzi is sort of like that veteran starting pitcher that the fans underestimate and the manager adores.

His earned-run average hovers around 4.00 and he doesn’t strike out many hitters and he occasionally hangs a curve ball on an 0-2 count.

But he also almost always wins. Kirk Ferentz certainly hasn’t had any thoughts of going to the bullpen since about the middle of last season.

Stanzi is seventh in the Big Ten in passing efficiency (up from ninth a week ago) and he has thrown three interceptions that have been returned for touchdowns, but he also is 15-3 as Iowa’s starting quarterback.

He’s 7-0 this season. If he can lead the Hawkeyes to victory Saturday at Michigan State, it will be the first 8-0 start in the school’s history.

The only quarterback in the country who has a longer winning streak also has a Heisman Trophy sitting on his shelf.

Still, Stanzi gets relatively little respect … except within his own team.

“There’s like 120-plus guys on this team and there’s not a single guy who would say a negative thing about him,” wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos said.

If you really think about it, the renaissance in the Iowa football program that began sometime last season pretty closely parallels Stanzi’s ascension to the starting quarterback job.

“The biggest thing is he gives everybody on the team confidence,” center Rafael Eubanks said. “That’s just the type of player he is and the type of person he is. He just brings that confidence to the offense.”

He also brings enthusiasm. At moments when the chips are down and it seems the easiest thing to do is to either quit or coast, Stanzi usually is the guy who snaps the Hawkeyes to life.

That’s been an important factor in a season in which they have trailed in six of their seven victories. It extends far beyond games to ordinary practices.

“It could be like 10 degrees outside and he’s flying around smacking guys on the butt, getting guys ready for the next drill,” Johnson-Koulianos said. “We’re like ‘Did you see Rick today? What’s wrong with him?’ But before you know it, everybody is feeding off that energy. And you’re like ‘Wow, what he did today he did on purpose.’ He knows how important the Tuesday, Wednesday practices are. It’s just contagious. He has an awesome approach to the game.”

Ferentz admits that when he decided last season to go with Stanzi over incumbent Jay Christensen, who has since transferred to Eastern Illinois, it wasn’t just because the tall kid from Mentor, Ohio, threw a tight spiral.

Stanzi’s infectious, upbeat personality was a major factor.

“That was part of the equation,” Ferentz said. “It always is with quarterbacks. I think Rick has a different personality he brings to the position … It was a series of things but that was certainly a significant part of what we were looking at.”

Ferentz said he thinks last Saturday’s game with Wisconsin may have been Stanzi’s best. He brought the Hawkeyes back from a 10-0 deficit and ended a string of five straight games with at least one interception although he did fumble the ball away once.

“A couple of plays he’d like to do over again,” Ferentz said. “I think that’s true in every football game … But I thought he did a nice job, protecting the football and made some beautiful throws. Most importantly, he kind of keeps us together out there.”

Stanzi still has been subjected to some harsh criticism this season, which seems absurd when the team is 7-0.

Ferentz falls short of saying the criticism has been “unfair.”

“I’m not going to use that word,” he said. “It’s the nature of playing quarterback … He deals with that pretty well, too. I think he does OK.”

Stanzi does better than OK. The Hawkeyes’ persistence and resilience this season have been a reflection of their field leader.

“People may be dogging you at times and dogging the team, but that’s normal,” Stanzi said. “I’m not really concerned either way. Let people think what they want to. We know what we have to do, what we have to do to earn respect. To be honest, all that really matters is today’s practice. All we have to worry about is today.”

Johnson-Kouliano just stands back and marvels at how much Stanzi must juggle in terms of practice, preparation and pressure, and at how little it fazes him.

“We’re with him all the time,” Johnson-Koulianos said. “We see how much time he puts in, how much heart he has, how much desire he has to win. He does everything with such a huge heart.

“When I see that, it inspires me to be a good citizen, to be a good teammate, to be accountable to him … He works hard. He deserves to have guys who follow his lead.”