5 players to watch in Iowa football’s matchup against Michigan State

IOWA CITY — Michigan State football has struggled the last few years.

Now, with questions of quarterback health and the future status of its head coach, the program has to go through Iowa in its first of two road games to close out the year.

The Spartans haven’t had a winning season since 2021, when Michigan State went 11-2 and made an appearance in the Peach Bowl. Michigan State did beat Iowa in the teams’ last meeting, however — a 32-20 win in East Lansing.

Michigan State’s most recent loss, 28-10 to Penn State at home, put the Spartans as one of three Big Ten programs without a conference win this year. The loss also effectively eliminated the Spartans from bowl contention.

“The message to the team in the locker room is heavy amount about the seniors who just played their last game in this stadium,” Coach Jonathan Smith said. “Talked about the respect for everyone in the room individually, but also the respect of the amount of work that's been put in. So we've got two more opportunities, and that'll be a message of still finishing this thing the right way.”

With a plethora of questions looming over this Spartans, here are five players to watch for when Michigan State arrives in Iowa City this weekend.

QB Alessio Milivojevic

Alessio Milivojevic took over the quarterback position ahead of the Minnesota game over teammate Aiden Chiles, who was in a boot ahead of the Penn State game. Smith told reporters Monday afternoon his status won’t be confirmed until later this weekend.

Milivojevic went 37-for-55 for 439 passing yards and one touchdown since being named starter. He’s made a handful of appearances throughout his redshirt freshman season, but also has taken five sacks in the Spartans’ most recent outing.

Smith said he’s optimistic that Milivojevic will be “good to go” against Iowa, but if something changes and neither Milivojevic and Chiles are available, Michigan State can use true freshman Leo Hannan or redshirt freshman Ryland Jesse.

RB Makhi Frazier

The Spartans’ leading rusher, sophomore Makhi Frazier has given Michigan State 520 yards on the ground. However, he’s only found the end zone twice, and both were in nonconference play.

The 5-foot-10 running back averages 57 yards per game, and can take part in the team’s receiving game as needed. His longest rush of the season was 49 yards against Michigan — which was his only Big Ten game with over 100 rushing yards.

WR Nick Marsh

After setting the Michigan State freshman record for most receiving yards (649) and receptions (41) in a single season, sophomore receiver Nick Marsh remains Michigan State’s top target in his second season.

Marsh averages 22.2 yards. He’s scored five receiving touchdowns this season, including one against Indiana on Oct. 18.

Marsh had just two targets for five yards against Penn State.

LB Jordan Hall

Junior linebacker Jordan Hall leads Michigan State in tackles, recording 74 this season. He’s on pace to match his career high, 94 tackles, by the end of the season.

Hall also has three forced fumbles, two of which came against Minnesota on Nov. 1. He’s able to reach the quarterback, recording two sacks this season, but hasn’t had a tackle-for-loss since the start of Big Ten play. He did, however, record his lone interception of the year against Nebraska.

Hall’s best outing was against the Golden Gophers, where he recorded 10 tackles to go along with the two forced fumbles.

LB Wayne Matthews III

Another experienced member of the Spartans defense, redshirt senior Wayne Matthews III is right behind Hall in tackles, recording 58, and also has one interception.

Matthews III spent three seasons at Old Dominion, where he ranked 11th in FBS with 135 tackles in the 2023 season. He was named to the All-Sun Belt third team that season.

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