EAST LANSING, MI – For a brief glimmer, the Iowa football team had hope. It’s past early-season triumphs appeared back once again. Star running back Kaleb Johnson took a handoff on the first play of a drive, racing around the left side, up the sideline, and across the goal line for a 75-yard touchdown run. Iowa trailed Michigan State, 25-20, with 7:22 remaining.
The team had life. Until it didn’t and reverted back to how it was playing all game. The Hawkeyes never scored again, conceding their eighth scoring drive to the Spartans just minutes later. After a second half of constant momentum swings, Iowa departed Spartan Stadium head in hands with a 32-20 loss, falling to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten.
“One thing about conference play is that’s a test every week,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said in his postgame press conference. “And we certainly didn’t pass this test.”
The Spartans piled on 468 total yards of offense – the most the Hawkeyes had let up this season – to go along with 27 first downs and not one punt. Quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 22-of-30 passes for 256 yards, an interception, and a touchdown, plus 56 rushing yards on 11 carries. Transfer running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams led the rushing attack with 86 yards while wideouts Nick Marsh and Montorie Foster Jr. each posted 100-yard performances.
“We didn’t tackle well,” Ferentz said. “Even from the sidelines, you could see that. It was pretty much all over the field, not just at one position. We didn’t tackle well and it’s hard to play good defense when you don’t do that.”
Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins blamed himself for Iowa’s tackling woes, adding that he didn’t want to criticize his teammates for a job he was relied upon to complete. He added Chiles wasn’t doing any favors for the Hawkeyes either.
“He was scrambling but he was doing a pretty good job of keeping his eyes downfield,” Higgins said of Chiles. “So you can’t just leave your guy in coverage to come make a play. We knew he was a capable runner. Over the season, he’s done nothing but get better and better.”
Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara finished the evening 11-of-23 for 150 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Outside of his 75-yard dash, Johnson managed 23 yards on the ground over 13 carries. Ferentz said there was “no real discussion” about replacing McNamara with backup Brendan Sullivan.
“We didn’t do anything well enough to win tonight, that included,” Ferentz said of Iowa’s quarterback play. “Cade missed some throws. We’re going to do better in a lot of areas and go back to work tomorrow, see what it looks like, and try to proceed forward.”
After a disastrous first half of football that brought the Hawkeyes only two first downs, Iowa matched its yardage total of the first 30 minutes with an eight-play, 58-yard drive, highlighted by an 18-yard jump-ball snag from first-year wideout Reece Vander Zee for a score.
“It wasn’t any drastic changes,” McNamara said of the Hawkeyes’ halftime adjustments. “It was just us making a decision that we were going to get it going. It was good that we were able to get it going, but it’s just unfortunate we weren’t able to finish it.”
On the ensuing drive, Michigan State answered in kind with an 18-yard passing score of its own. On first down, Chiles sat in a clean pocket and found senior receiver Montorie Foster Jr. alone in the end zone. Foster, the Spartans’ leading receiver last season, blew past Iowa corner John Nestor, leaving the Hawkeye stranded in the grass.
Nestor entered the game to replace starter TJ Hall. Fellow cornerback Deshaun Lee, who started six games for the Hawkeyes last season, didn’t see many snaps against the Spartans. The trio combined for four tackles, no pass breakups, and two penalties costing the Hawkeyes 30 yards. Ferentz said finding a starting corner alongside sixth-year senior Jermari Harris remains in evaluation.
“We’re going to keep rotating them to try to figure out what gets us the best chance to win,” Ferentz said.
Despite the defensive lapse from the secondary, Iowa’s scoring barrage continued, as the Hawkeyes needed only eight more plays to strike again. McNamara found tight end Luke Lachey for a 28-yard gain down the middle. A face mask penalty on the Spartans tacked on an extra 15 yards. Three plays later, backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan, back in his usual role inside the 10-yard line, took a high snap on third down and rushed to his right for a two-yard score.
The Hawkeyes nearly forced Michigan State’s first punt of the game, but Lynch-Adams forced his way through would-be tacklers for 10 yards on third-and-22. The gain proved just enough, as Kim’s 55-yard attempt cleared the crossbar for his fifth field goal of the evening.
Iowa’s next drive lasted all of two plays, as McNamara’s deep pass sailed short of its intended target and into the hands of Michigan State defensive back Nikai Martinez to set up the Spartans in enemy territory.
While Seth Anderson was open downfield, McNamara said his pass was intended for Lachey and that there was a miscommunication between the two. The quarterback explained how both were reading the Spartans’ mike linebacker and that Lachey made the correct read on how to run the route.
“That was 100 percent on me,” McNamara said.
Despite a pass interference penalty on receiver Jaron Glover, Michigan State snuck into Kim’s range and the grad transfer from North Carolina knocked down his sixth of the evening.
After the Johnson touchdown, the Spartans drove down the field once again, breaking tackles and setting up running back Nathan Carter for a one-yard plunge across the goal line to put the game on ice.
Johnson said the Spartans were effective with blitzing from all levels of the defense.
“They just bring everybody, so it was really nothing we could do,” he said. “Just keep giving it our all, keep pulling blocks, and just make one pop. I made the most of it.”
The Hawkeyes’ first quarter was their worst performance of the season. In three drives, Iowa netted 17 total yards.
The closest Iowa came to scoring in the first half was a 58-yard field goal attempt from kicker Drew Stevens that sailed wide right. Hawkeye defensive back Koen Entringer snagged his first interception of the season to set up at Iowa in enemy territory, but the Hawkeyes gained five yards in response – all from Johnson – and prompted head coach Kirk Ferentz to opt for the long field goal try.
Michigan State meanwhile, averaged six yards per play on its way to two field goals from kicker Jonathan Kim. The graduate student from North Carolina drilled two more in the second quarter as the Spartans continued to thrash the Hawkeye defense with chunk plays and mobility from Chiles.
The teenaged QB scampered for 21 yards and seven carries and worked his way in the pocket to find senior wideout Montorie Foster Jr. and first-year Nick Marsh for gains of 20-plus yards. Iowa put backup John Nestor in for TJ Hall at cornerback in the second quarter, but the change wasn’t effective, as Chiles finished the first half 10-of-16 for 132 yards.
Iowa’s longest drive of the first half was seven plays for 32 yards. The Hawkeyes managed two first downs and 58 total yards compared to Michigan State’s 15 and 250.
Despite its three second-half touchdowns covering for what could’ve been a late-night laugher in East Lansing, Iowa never seized the pendulum swinging in its direction.
“In the game there’s a lot of ups and downs, so you got to stay the course,” Iowa safety Xavier Nwankpa said. “Keep fighting and keep digging.”
Injury Report
Hawkeye safety and preseason Associated Press All-American Sebastian Castro didn’t suit up against the Spartans after being listed as questionable on the availability report prior to kickoff. Ferentz said Castro was dealing with an ankle injury and would most likely be good to go for next week.
Iowa safety Koen Entringer left the game in the second half and did not return. Ferentz said Entringer suffered a hand injury but said the ailment wasn’t serious and the Hawkeye would be back in action soon.
Up Next
The Hawkeyes return to Kinnick Stadium for their annual homecoming game against Northwestern. The Wildcats are 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten, having picked up a 23-3 loss to Wisconsin in Week 8. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.