Last Week’s Stats: 12-18 completions (66.7 completion percentage), 143 passing yards, 0 interceptions, 10 rushes, 69 rushing yards, 6.9 yards per carry, 2 rushing TDs, 1 reception, 74 receiving yards
With starting quarterback Ethan Greenwood going down in the first half with an injury at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Stanzani, a redshirt junior, answered the call and piloted LIU to the program’s first-ever win over an FBS squad. Entering the game with a 14-10 lead at the 7:19 mark of the second quarter thanks to a pair of rushing scores from Greenwood, the Floridian followed in the footsteps of his fellow signal caller and ran for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure the win for the Sharks. His first score came after LIU’s defense forced a pivotal turnover on downs on a 4th-and-1 on the Eagles’ 14-yard line. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Stanzani ran into the end zone untouched to extend the lead to 21-10 with 12:12 to go. Later in the stanza, he capped a 75-yard, 16-play drive that chewed up 9:44 of game time with a two-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 28-16 lead heading into the final 1:56. In the Sharks’ 28-23 win, Stanzani showed off his versatility by going 12-of-18 for 143 passing yards while adding 69 rushing yards on 10 carries and a 74-yard reception. This is the first NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Offensive Player of the Week award for Stanzani, who was a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree in 2022.