For the first time this season inside Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes looked flat, uninspired and careless during a home loss to No. 15 Michigan State on Saturday.
Iowa got behind 34-7 in the third quarter and then a late rally fell short as the Spartans beat the Hawkeyes for the first time in Kinnick Stadium since 1989, winning 37-21.
"They were a lot more ready to play than we were," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They certainly did a great job in that first half; made it a real challenge for us. They're a very good football team. They were playing well. They certainly deserved to win. It's disappointing on our end of the thing. But we'll go back to work tomorrow and see what we can do and get ready for the next ballgame."
The win for Michigan State puts it in the driver's seat for the Legends Division title, while Iowa's hopes of playing in the first-ever Big Ten championship game are pretty much over. The Spartans are 8-2 overall with games against Purdue and Northwestern remaining.
The main reason for the Iowa loss today was due to the fact that the Hawkeyes turned the ball over three times, two of which led to 14 first-half points by Michigan State and then third ended a promising drive late in the game when Iowa was trying to mount a comeback.
"We left the door open way too many times in all three phases," Ferentz said. "It wasn't just any one segment. Little details. Just little things, all the basics that either help you win or make it tougher to win."
Michigan State led by just 10 with two minutes to play in the first half but a TD by the Spartans and then a quick turnover on the ensuing kickoff by Jordan Bernstine allowed Michigan State to take a big lead into the locker room. Iowa never recovered.
Penalties also played a role in the game. Iowa came in with a penalty yards per game average of around 33. The Hawkeyes had that number covered by halftime.
"Outside of our touchdown drive, there wasn't much we did in the first 30 minutes that was encouraging," Ferentz said. "Again, you're playing a good team like Michigan State, it's not realistic to think you're going to have a chance to compete against them if you're not playing well."
The rally was positive but Iowa just never seemed into the game on a day when 18 seniors were honored before the game. The Hawkeyes could not run the ball on offense and James Vandenberg struggled with his passing throughout, some of which could be blamed on extremely high winds over Kinnick Stadium.
Vandenberg finished 22-of-47 for 262 yards and two scores, but his first-half interception turned into seven points for the Spartans. He also had several throws behind receivers or at their feet. It was not his best performance in a Hawkeye uniform.
The bright spot on the day for the offense came from senior Marvin McNutt, who continues to rewrite the record books at wide receiver. He had eight catches for 130 yards and another score and passed Derrell Johnson-Koulianos in total receiving yards in Iowa history. He also rushed for 27 yards on two reverses.
"He's playing well. I just said on the radio the most pleasing thing about him is he's improving each week," Ferentz said. "He's practicing each week and making strides. That's what good players do, they work to get better. It showed up again on the field today."
It is pretty hard to argue McNutt being the greatest receiver in Iowa football history. He now has 2,635 receiving yards in his career, which bests Johnson-Koulianos by 21 yards with at least two games to play in his career. He also is just 20 catches away from Johnson-Koulianos' career recptions record as well.
Iowa spoiled Michigan State's undefeated season last year with a 37-6 trouncing at Kinnick Stadium. In that game, Spartan QB Kirk Cousins had one of his worst performances of his career. Saturday, Cousins was nearly perfect, throwing for 260 yards and three scores and more importantly no turnovers.
Le'Veon Bell also sparked the Spartan offense with 111 rushing yards and 49 receiving yards. B.J. Cunningham caught two of Cousins' TD passes. Both times Iowa's secondary was beaten badly.
As good as the Spartan offense was today, the defense may have been better. Iowa moved the ball at times but the Spartans held Big Ten leading rusher Marcus Coker to just 57 yards on 21 carries and held the Iowa rushing attack to jut 87 yards. Forcing the three turnovers also was big.
"They did a good job of taking our run away from us," Ferentz said. "We never got any rhythm going at all. Marcus, I don't think he had a chance to get started. Credit goes to them. They really did a great job."
Game Ball
I am going with a Spartan this time around because the Michigan State offense and defense were clearly better than Iowa's. On defense, Max Bullough was a man among boys for the Spartans. He finished with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack and was a big reason why Coker could not get going.
If I gave the game ball to an offensive player, it would go to Cousins, who played much better than Vandenberg and improved immensely from last year's brutal three-interception performance against the Hawkeyes.
Red Zone Offense
Even though they lost, the Hawkeyes continue to be good in the red zone. Iowa was 3-for-4 in the red zone Saturday with three TDs from McNutt, Coker and sophomore TE C.J. Fiedorowicz, his first-ever TD at Iowa.
The only mishap in the red zone came late in the game when junior TE Zach Derby fumbled what would have been a first-down catch inside the 10-yard line. Michigan State recovered the fumble and ran out the remaining time in the game to seal the win.
Bowl Projections
The loss will definitely hurt Iowa's chances at a good bowl game and unless they can find a way to win a game on the road -- something the team has not done this year -- they may not be headed to any bowl.
Teams must win six games to be eligible for postseason play but winning just six games does not guarantee a team a bowl appearance.
At this point, Iowa fans should expect to play in the Little Cesars Bowl in Detroit against a team from the MAC or the Meinecke Car Care of Texas Bowl in Houston against a team from the Big 12. The TicketCity Bowl in Dallas against a Conference-USA opponent also is an option.
Iowa Defense
You know when the opponent's offensive line is dominating a game when the secondary is making a bulk of the tackles. Iowa's linebackers for the most part were covered up by the Spartan offensive line, which is why Cousins was not sacked and why Bell rushed for more than 100 yards.
Iowa's leading tackler was redshirt freshman linebacker Christian Kirksey (9 tackles), but secondary members Shaun Prater (8), Micah Hyde (7) and Tanner Miller (7) were not far behind.
Officiating
Some fans are going to say that the officials cost Iowa the game. While there were some questionable calls, the officials rarely ever cost a team a game.
A holding call against Adam Gettis in the first half certainly derailed Iowa's momentum on an offensive play. And Bernstine's fumble on a kickoff could have been stopped by the officials as Bernstine tried to fight for more yardage.
There also was a false start penalty in the second half when Iowa converted a fourth down and one with a quick snap and QB sneak. The play put Iowa in fourth and six and the Hawkeyes failed to convert.
"Yeah, there were just some things going on that we thought maybe were getting missed," Ferentz said. "I'll tell you officiating didn't lose this game."
