Michigan State @ Iowa preview
Kinnick Stadium
Last Meeting ( Oct 24, 2009 ) Iowa 15, Michigan State 13
No. 5 Michigan State faces its biggest remaining threat to an undefeated regular season when it visits No. 19 Iowa in a Big Ten Conference matchup Saturday.
The Spartans (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten), who rose to No. 5 in the BCS rankings with their comeback 35-27 win at Northwestern, close with an easy schedule following the Hawkeyes: Minnesota and Purdue at home, and a visit to struggling Penn State. They do not have to play Ohio State this year.
Michigan State hasn’t exactly been dominant. It trailed 17-0 to Northwestern and earlier beat Notre Dame on a fake field goal in overtime.
But the Spartans remain unblemished and as a result have earned the highest BCS ranking in school history.
Coach Mark Dantonio, who suffered a heart attack following the win over Notre Dame, returned to the sidelines last week at Northwestern. He called a fake punt in the fourth quarter that worked to perfection, helping his team cut the deficit to three points.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins played brilliantly. He threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The junior engineered an 88-yard, game-winning touchdown drive and capped it with a 9-yard strike to B.J. Cunningham with two minutes left.
The defense registered eight sacks, the most since Dantonio took over in 2007. Johnathan Strayhorn and Tyler Hoover had two each and Jerel Worthy added 1.5.
While the Spartans are flying high, the Hawkeyes (5-2, 2-1) are trying to erase the memory of last Saturday’s 31-30 home loss to Wisconsin. Iowa was victimized by a Badgers fake punt and by its own clock mismanagement.
The Hawkeyes are putting up 413 yards of offense per game, with quarterback Ricky Stanzi ranking second nationally in pass efficiency. He’s thrown for 1,732 yards and 16 touchdowns against two interceptions. Adam Robinson has run for 737 yards and nine scores.
Iowa also brings a stingy rush defense that ranks eighth nationally, giving up 92.1 yards per game. However, the Hawkeyes have given up five rushing touchdowns in their last two games.
Both teams excel at creating turnovers and minimizing their own. Both are plus-9 in turnover margin.
Iowa still harbors hopes of winning the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes are favored at home and they can get their season back on track with a win Saturday.
Iowa leads the all-time series 21-18-2, including a 15-13 thriller last year when Stanzi hit Marvin McNutt for a 7-yard touchdown as time expired. The Hawkeyes have won eight of the last 12 meetings.