A 22-play, 82-yard drive put the Spartans ahead for good and doomed Iowa’s playoff hopes.

By Jordan Hansen
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INDIANAPOLIS — As Michigan State running back LJ Scott was pushed back at the line of scrimmage on third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter on Dec. 5, there was still hope among the Iowa faithful that their team could continue the improbable journey toward the College Football Playoff.

A tremendous second effort from Scott, however, ended those dreams. Scott stretched into the end zone, giving the Spartans a 16-13 lead. The touchdown came at the end of a 22-play, 82-yard drive that took 9:04 off the clock and left the Hawkeyes with just 27 seconds in the fourth quarter to create a miracle.

“Crushing,” Iowa linebacker Cole Fisher said when asked to describe the moment. “It’s rough when you have two or three opportunities to stop them, and they just keep going.”

The pain for the Hawkeyes was only deepened and lengthened because of what had happened earlier in the quarter.

Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard dropped back to pass on the first play of the final stanza and threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tevaun Smith, who caught the ball in stride. The Hawkeyes went up 13-9 over the Spartans and quickly got the ball back a little under three minutes later.

At that point, Iowa had all the momentum in the world, but it could only string together five plays for 26 yards and had to punt. Throughout the evening, the Hawkeyes struggled to get yards and points, especially in the first half. It finally caught up with them.

“We were confident right up to the last play we were going to make a stop,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It was a great, competitive football game.”

Things started off poorly enough early for Iowa when tight end Henry Krieger Coble fumbled the ball on the third play of the game, and Michigan State recovered, eventually kicking a 23-yard field goal to put the Spartans up 3-0.

Later in the same quarter, Cook threw an interception at his own 30 and Iowa drove all the way to Michigan State’s 6-yard line. However, the Hawkeyes settled for a field goal, tying the game at 3.

“We gave it everything we had,” Iowa center Austin Blythe said. “We just needed to execute a little better, maybe; I don’t think we were quite there with the details like we had been all season.”

Lack of execution on offense, perhaps, as the Hawkeyes managed just 52 total rushing yards — but not on defense. Michigan State held the ball for 11:15 during the third quarter but managed just 6 points. Those points came on two field goals and gave the Spartans a 9-6 lead they didn’t relinquish until Beathard’s bomb to Smith.

First-team Big Ten quarterback Connor Cook was harassed all night, going 16-of-32 for 191 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Cook was sacked three times and Michigan State was tackled for loss seven times.

Outside of the last, crushing, drive, the Iowa defense held a Michigan State offense that had averaged more than 33 points per game to just 9.

In the end, it just wasn’t enough.

“The game was on us,” Iowa cornerback Greg Mabin said. “We needed to get the ball back to our offense, and we didn’t.”

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