That was winning the Iowa way, ugly.
One of those games where either team didn't play competently enough to take advantage of each others obvious weaknesses. Which might be a good descriptor for football in the West division.
Iowa's run blocking was beat most of the night by a Spartans DL who played their hearts out until wear and tear set in late in the game. Hawkeyes ground game gained only 61 yards which is concerning if you're passing game is well known for its very low ceiling of play.
Iowa's backup QB Hill, taking over after McNamara's injury, was reluctant to throw downfield, his play limited by only taking what the defense gave - 4 or 5 yd passes. An undermanned Spartans defense was able to snuff out this low risk approach. Consequently to watch Iowa's non-dimensional offense is to witness about the easiest-to-defend offense you'll ever see.
On the other side of the ball, Noah Kim is a pedestrian QB talent. MSU’s offense has scored one touchdown in the last ten quarters with Noah Kim as the quarterback. Most of his passes are lofts toward the sideline. Time to move on. Kim is a Dantonio recruit, leaving me wondering how Mel Tucker and Jay Johnson couldn't've found a better QB in the 3 or 4 seasons they've coached in East Lansing.
It took Cooper DeJean's late Punt Return for TD to break through the stalemate. DeJean reminds me of one of those multipurpose players Belichick is known to maximize, like Danny Woodhead or Rex Burkhead.
By then, halfway through the 4th, things were starting to fall apart for MSU. The crowd, who'd been waiting for three quarters to erupt, was drowning out MSU's snap counts, resulting in several late false start penalties. And DT Barrow (another Dantonio recruit), who played heroically as a run stuffer, went out with an injury.
And speaking of Dantonio, what was he doing on the sideline last night? Interfacing with the coaches during gameplay? If this was a one-time visit, why for a road game?
