Michigan State football was on precipice of stealing win at Iowa. Then it all fell apart.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Tunmise Adeleye poked the ball free. Cal Haladay scooped it and scored, running 42 yards and dragging an Iowa player into the end zone with him the final few feet.

In that moment, with 13:09 left in the third quarter Saturday night, the weight of a week — a few weeks, really — vanished. Michigan State football appeared on the precipice of a Big Ten upset.

One play after Noah Kim’s second interception of the game.

On prime-time TV. On the road for the first time this season.

Four days after coach Mel Tucker’s firing. Three weeks after the program’s last semblance of normality. Ten years after the Spartans’ last win at Kinnick Stadium.

Instead, it all fell apart over the final 27 minutes.

The Hawkeyes scored 16 unanswered points after Haladay’s touchdown, taking advantage of MSU’s special teams gaffes and penalties. And as Cooper DeJean raced 70 yards for the go-ahead punt return score en route to a 26-16 victory, Haladay gave chase the final few yards and couldn’t catch the Iowa star as he crossed the goal line.

So close. Not close enough. Another wound to a team already reeling from circumstances beyond its control.

“Losing sucks regardless. It's one of the worst feelings ever in the world,” left guard J.D. Duplain said. “I mean, I almost hate losing more than I like to win. It's just a horrible feeling. And people are gonna be down and people are gonna hurt because you put in all this time. Everything we do is to win football games. Starting from when this game is over until the next game, every single decision we make in life is to win a football game.

“And when it doesn't happen, it hurts.”

Compounding that was the self-inflicted damage along the way that led to the latest loss, the third straight for MSU (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten); issues that have plagued the Spartans all season, even before the turmoil and the losing began.

Despite a strong defensive performance, they missed five tackles on Erick All’s 13-yard touchdown in the second quarter – the only offensive touchdown of the game by either team. A few more whiffs came on DeJean’s punt return with 3:45 to play.

MSU also committed 10 penalties for 94 yards, six flags coming after Haladay’s touchdown put the Spartans ahead, 16-10. They committed seven infractions for 54 yards after halftime, four for 29 yards in the final quarter. MSU's offense got flagged four times for false starts in the final 16:10.

“I’m gonna make some calls to some people that I know at different places around the country and just see how you can become more disciplined and more focused on not committing turnovers and bad penalties and things like that,” said interim head coach Harlon Barnett, now 0-3 since taking over after Tucker was suspended Sept. 10. “Once we clean that stuff up, you’ll see a much better team. We won’t be beating ourselves. People are gonna actually have to beat us.

“We helped Iowa beat us tonight.”

The Spartans now have been penalized 40 times for 358 yards this season, an average of eight times for 71.6 yards per game. They committed four more turnovers, as well as giving back to Iowa on downs when Barnett opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 30-yard line — that decision came after Angelo Grose’s interception on the Hawkeyes’ possession after Haladay’s score, with the energy already tilted in MSU’s favor.

It didn’t work, and Iowa kicked a field goal to begin its comeback.

“Why do that there? I’m trying to have us get more momentum,” Barnett said. “It was fourth-and-1. Hey, man, you feel like you can get a fourth-and-1. It wasn’t fourth-and-2 like last week — actually, it wasn’t even all of (a yard). … Just trying to build momentum and confidence for our team, if I can say that. That’s what it’s about, being aggressive that way.”

Said Duplain: “It just comes down to a couple plays a game, five plays a game. And you never know which plays those are, and that's why you have to play as hard as you can every single snap. Because you never know which play is gonna be that play that ultimately puts you in position to win or lose the game.”

That doesn’t even cover the continued offensive inefficiency with Noah Kim at quarterback. The junior threw three more interceptions and now is 55 of 107 (51.4%) with six picks to just one touchdown in his past three games. Backup Katin Houser led the Spartans' only other offensive touchdown against Power Five competition this season at the end of a blowout home loss to Washington.

Houser did not play Saturday for the first time this season, but Barnett termed it a “good question” when asked about Kim's lack of production.

And quarterback play will remain primary among all the other concerns as MSU heads into its bye week trying to decompress and recalibrate after Wednesday’s firing of Tucker. The Spartans travel to Rutgers for a noon kickoff Oct. 14.

“We got two weeks. That’s a good thing,” Barnett said. “So we’ll talk, (offensive coordinator) Jay (Johnson) and I and the offensive staff, we’ll all talk it through and see if there’s something that needs to be done — or not — and evaluate it being very, very realistic in evaluation and being very fair at the same time.”

Even while attempting to iron out the growing issues, it could be a long two weeks, in many ways.

Two players decided to leave the program: starting long snapper Hank Pepper and reserve defensive back Justin White. Others could follow, with the 30-day transfer portal window that opened Wednesday a lure.

Injuries continue to mount as well. Maliq Carr, Tre Mosley, Malik Spencer and Simeon Barrow all left the game; Haladay and Dillon Tatum both got hurt but returned. MSU already lost linebacker Jacoby Windmon and defensive back Armorion Smith for the remainder of the season to undisclosed injuries.

Still, for a group of players that absorbed the bombshell of Tucker’s sudden suspension hours after their last win over Richmond on Sept. 9, the bye arrives at a good time. It gives the Spartans time to fully process the gravity of the past month and how that affects the future of the program, collectively and individually.

There hasn’t been any give-up at the moment, both Haladay and Duplain said. And their mission is to ensure that mindset persists as Barnett and MSU’s coaches work to make fixes to prevent their players from disappearing, both mentally and physically.

“Our guys are still fighting for each other,” Haladay said. “With everything going on, we're a team. We believe in each other, and we want the best for each other. And I think that shows. We don't give up.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State was on precipice of stealing win. It all fell apart.