Iowa football unravels in upset loss to Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Spartan Stadium’s lights flickered rhythmically at the end of the third quarter.

Michigan State fans, meanwhile, swayed with their cell phone flashlights to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” The moment perhaps lacked its full effect, as swaths of bleachers were open.

But the empty seats aside, the name of the song perhaps served as some foreshadowing as Iowa football unraveled in the fourth quarter and suffered a 32-20 upset loss to the Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten).

“One thing about conference play — it’s a test every week, and we certainly didn’t pass this test,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Iowa (4-3, 2-2) had a chance to potentially go on a game-tying touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, trailing by eight points. But quarterback Cade McNamara appeared to wildly overthrow tight end Luke Lachey, resulting in a costly interception.

Michigan State’s excellent field position off the McNamara pick set up Jonathan Kim’s single-game program-record sixth field goal. Iowa answered on the next play with a 75-yard Kaleb Johnson touchdown run to cut the deficit to 25-20, but Michigan State removed any doubt with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Nate Carter’s 1-yard run.

Michigan State’s game-clinching drive was symbolic of Iowa’s overall defensive letdown, as the Hawkeyes gave up 468 total yards to the Spartans while periodically missing tackles in a matter that is uncharacteristic for Phil Parker’s unit.

Ferentz said it’s “been quite a while since we played like that” on defense.

“We didn’t tackle well,” Ferentz said. “Even from the sideline, you could see that. That was pretty much all over the field, not just one position. … It’s hard to play good defense if you don’t do that.”

Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles had 256 yards while completing 73 percent of his passes (22-30). He had one touchdown and one interception.

Chiles’ success came against an Iowa secondary that was without defensive back Sebastian Castro — an Associated Press third-team All-American last year — because of an ankle injury.

Ferentz said after the game that he expects Castro “to play next week.”

The Hawkeyes struggled to stop any of Michigan State’s top three rushing options — running backs Kay’ron Lynch-Adams and Carter and Chiles himself — who each had at least 40 yards.

The Spartans finished with 212 rushing yards while averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

The one bright spot for Iowa’s defense was its ability to limit promising Michigan State drives to field goals instead of touchdowns. Six of the Spartans’ eight scoring drives were field goals, which kept the Hawkeyes in the game longer.

Kim’s six field goals are the most from a Big Ten kicker in 2024. His only miss on Saturday was from 55 yards, a distance from which he also converted.

Iowa’s offense showed improvement in the second half after only mustering 58 yards before intermission. But it certainly was not enough to overcome the 12-0 deficit and the defense’s porous performance.

Even with Johnson’s 75-yard touchdown carry in the fourth quarter, it was an unusually unproductive night for the Hawkeyes rushing attack, which finished with 133 yards. Johnson had 98.

It was a stark contrast from Iowa’s 222.8 rushing yards per game and Johnson’s 156.2 rushing yards per game before Saturday’s loss.

Iowa barely showed any threat in the passing game either, as McNamara finished the day 11-of-23 for 150 yards. He had one touchdown — an 18-yard throw to true freshman Reece Vander Zee — and the costly interception.

“Basically, we didn’t do anything well enough to win tonight,” Ferentz said.

Saturday’s result snapped Michigan State’s three-game losing streak. The Spartans’ last win was 35 days earlier against Prairie View A&M.

It also abruptly halted Iowa’s momentum from last week’s 40-16 blowout win over Washington, which was Kirk Ferentz’s 200th win as Iowa’s head coach.

Iowa will look to change its fortunes next week against Northwestern. The Wildcats have lost three of their last four games.

“We’ll get back on our feet and go back to work tomorrow,” Ferentz said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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