Michigan State football grades vs. Iowa: Despite run game, bad night for offense, coaches
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Chris Solari rates Michigan State football on a scale of A to F after the Spartans’ 26-16 loss Saturday at Iowa:
Offense: D
MSU’s offensive line generated some push against a stout Iowa front seven. Nathan Carter showed burst and power, running hard and picking up tough yards en route to his third 100-plus yard game as a Spartan. But the inability to avoid penalties and turnovers ultimately proved costly. Quarterback Noah Kim threw three interceptions and failed to score an offensive touchdown for the second time in three games after getting just one in last week’s loss to Maryland. The offense also committed seven of the team's 10 penalties for 50 of the Spartans’ 94 yards penalized. Four of those flags came on third down, including back-to-back false starts before the fateful final punt.
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Defense: B-
Missed tackles and untimely major penalties — two roughing the passer flags and a third-down pass interference call — continued to plague MSU. And getting to face Iowa backup quarterback Deacon Hill for all but 10 plays helped. However, the Spartans stifled the Hawkeyes to just 61 rushing yards and forced two turnovers, one of them a forced fumble by Tunmise Adeleye (making up for one of the roughing calls) that Cal Haladay returned for the Spartans’ only touchdown. Angelo Grose started at safety in place of the injured Jaden Mangham and got his second interception in as many weeks. MSU limited Iowa to just 2 of 13 on third down, forcing six three-and-out possessions. The Hawkeyes managed only 222 total yards and just 3.8 yards per play.
Special teams: C-
For nearly three quarters, it was a great day for the third phase of the game for the Spartans. Jonathan Kim booted a 53-yard field goal among his three makes, and Ryan Eckley averaged a booming 57.5 yards on his first four punts. Everything unraveled in a major way and led to a 13-point swing in the 10-point loss. It started with Kim’s 50-yard kick that hit the upright and was no good with 38 seconds left in the third quarter. Then Eckley set Iowa up with short field after shanking a 15-yard punt, which led to the game-tying field goal. That was followed by a line drive 48-yarder away from his gunners, giving Cooper DeJean open field to work with en route to the game-clinching 70-yard punt return touchdown.
Coaching: D+
There must be credit given to the staff for keeping their players engaged and fighting after Mel Tucker’s firing earlier in the week, putting them in position into the fourth quarter for a chance to win on the road. That said, the constant penalties and missed tackles remain problematic, and this was not a good coaching game from a decision-making standpoint. Going for it on fourth-and-1 at the MSU 30 was a bad choice by interim coach Harlon Barnett, and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson’s call on that play was the exact same sneak he's called in similar situations the past two weeks. That turnover on downs led to an Iowa field goal. Johnson also in the third quarter went back to the well once too often with a reverse to Alante Brown that resulted in an 8-yard loss and killed momentum after starting the drive with 17 yards. Special teams coach Ross Els shifting the punt team gunners to one side of the field against a dangerous return man in DeJean also was disastrous and the ultimate backbreaker.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football grades vs. Iowa: Bad night for offense, coaches
