Football reporters Danny Payne, Charlie Green, Ryan Rodriguez, and Jordan Hansen list four things No. 4 Iowa must do in order to beat No. 5 Michigan State.

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INDIANAPOLIS — It’s almost here, we promise. We’re coming at you live from inside Lucas Oil Stadium, where No. 4 Iowa and No. 5 Michigan State are set to play for the Big Ten Championship at 7:17 p.m. Dec. 5 As you can see from the summary paragraph, we have the full team of print writers here. Follow Danny, Jordan, Ryan, and Charlie all evening long for updates. Below are our exams; you can read our predictions here.

Score first

The Hawkeyes have scored first in every game this season except for the win at Wisconsin to kick off Big Ten play. We’ve said it all week, there isn’t any reason for Iowa to try to find out what happens when it has to play from behind. Scoring first negates possibility of that.

Make a special play

So far this season, Iowa’s special teams have rarely let it down. On Dec. 5, the Hawks have no room for error. Marshall Koehn can’t miss extra points and field goals, and he and Kidd also need to punt well. A nice return by Desmond King wouldn’t hurt anything, either.

Capitalize on mistakes

Iowa has had an opportunistic defense all season, and it’ll need to make the most of it again tonight. Connor Cook doesn’t throw many bad balls, so every slip up is a massive opportunity for the Hawks.

Pressure Cook

If there’s any quarterback in college football not to give time to, it’s Cook. A lack of a consistent pass rush will allow the senior to pick apart Iowa’s defense with ease. But if the Hawks make him uncomfortable and rush him through his reads, they can contain the best player on the field.

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