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MSU football shows competence and growth in season-changing win over Iowa

Vaseline October 20, 2024

EAST LANSING – You could see it in Jonathan Smith, how good this felt, how proud he was of his team after Michigan State’s 32-20 win over Iowa on Saturday night, realizing that the culture he hopes to build at MSU shows itself as already little.

It must be satisfying to put everything into a match with an extra week of preparation and have your team show up like that.

You could feel his relief too. Two weeks ago, in a tent outside Oregon’s football stadium, Smith openly worried about his team’s declining confidence.

Saturday night at Spartan Stadium, he sounded like a coach planning to coach in a bowl game.

He didn’t specifically say that. It was more Freudian than that: one line when he talked about something else. “We don’t want to give away all our secrets,” Smith said. “We still have five games left in the regular season.”

That’s the first time I can remember him adding “regular season” as a qualifier. Saturday may have been the first time in a month that he believed something was different for this team.

“I think we have a genuine belief in this locker room,” Smith said. “You lose three games in a row and then you have a week to really think about it. I think it speaks to the culture that these player-led guys want to build here, and they’ve been bought and (are) still motivated.

And on Saturday night, they were a pretty good football team. And an improving one. That’s an achievement when you’ve played MSU’s schedule, when you’ve had the swagger knocked out of you by playing Ohio State and Oregon six days in a row.

The bye weeks tell of a team’s trajectory, of the belief and focus in the locker room, and often reveal the insight of a coaching staff.

Whatever we felt about the Spartans two weeks ago at 3-3, we feel differently today at 4-3. Not because they beat a solid Iowa team with some strengths and weaknesses. But because of how they looked doing it. And who led the way – a quarterback, whose crushing turnovers were at the forefront of their struggles during the losing streak, who threw to two receivers on Saturday who maintained excellence in a way they hadn’t in recent weeks, an offensive line that seemed to be on the mend. growing against the Hawkeyes, and a defense opposite another elite running back, this time nearly shutting down Iowa’s ground game save for one long run.

And of course, a kicker who has been brilliant all year and proved time and time again on Saturday that the Spartans can lean on him for points virtually every time they reach the 35-yard line.

“It starts at the line of scrimmage – their guys have done a good job there,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said of MSU’s offensive line. “Michigan State, I thought they played sharp and clear, starting up front, but all their backs have been running the football well and (their) receivers are looking good.

“They certainly had a very good plan, and most importantly, the execution was good. I don’t know if they did something different or new, but they just looked very confident. (Their quarterback) played really well and obviously led the football team. I think he made some good checks there. He knew what he was looking for and executed it well.”

MORE: Couch’s marks for Michigan State’s performance against Iowa

That quarterback, Aidan Chiles, played what Smith described as his “best complete game,” his only interception coming on a third-and-long and giving the ball to Iowa near midfield, a mistake that for once didn’t end. costs MSU. But Chiles was so good on a lot of other pitches. This was exactly the kind of in-season development you’d hope for from a sophomore with a world full of talent, but also the world on his shoulders. Smith talked about Chiles getting them into the right plays on Saturday, identifying coverages and manipulating Iowa’s cornerbacks. If you take an honest look at the quarterback play around college football – in Iowa, Michigan, Alabama and Tennessee, you’ll realize that MSU is in a very good spot with Chiles, even if more trouble is on the way.

It helped that he got so much help, including a run that went over 200 yards for the first time all season. That had consequences for Iowa.

“The safety started walking down (towards the line of scrimmage),” said MSU senior wideout Motorie Foster, after he and freshman Nick Marsh each had 100 or more yards receiving. “So we made a lot of shots over the top and made a lot of deep plays.”

And MSU’s defense made sure its offense had time to build an early lead and play from the front, holding Iowa without its first loss in the second quarter and going scoreless for a half.

“They brought the safeties, they brought the linebackers. They played hard,” said Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, who entered the game averaging 7.9 yards per carry and had 13 rushes for just 23 yards until a late touchdown run of 75 yards. “Give credit when it’s due. They played their asses off.”

Another positive characteristic that emerged again: MSU’s level-headed response when things got tight or went wrong. Just like in the opener against Florida Atlantic (when MSU’s defense saved the Spartans) and at Maryland a week later, MSU didn’t play like a completely upset team. After Iowa cut the Spartans’ lead to 25-20 midway through the fourth quarter on Johnson’s long run, MSU used the next five minutes to go 75 yards in 10 plays, with Chiles completing all five pass attempts and Nate Carter eight yards picked up. third-and-3 and then, from the 1-yard line, punch in to end the game with 2:03 left.

“I think about tonight’s game, the reactions that had to happen, especially in the second half,” Smith said. “When we went all the way back to Boston College, we had opportunities and we couldn’t finish the thing and we couldn’t respond the way we wanted to finish it. I think this shows some growth.”

We’ll see what that means next Saturday night in Michigan, when the mood could shift sharply if growth and balance are gone. But it’s hard not to like MSU’s chances after this Saturday, after seeing how MSU came out of the bye and how Michigan did (losing 21-7 at Illinois), and comparing MSU’s quarterback play to that of Michigan.

Next week’s game is a different kind of animal. But none more important to this particular season than Saturday’s win over Iowa, as it changed the trajectory of the season and should boost confidence in the Smith era.

This was the coaching competency that came to light when it was needed.

MORE: Bench: 3 quick versions of Michigan State’s 32-20 win over Iowa

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.