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Week two brought with it a new type of frustration for Iowa fans. In week one, the Hawkeyes looked to be in control for most of the game, but lost on a slew of mental errors and a pair of turnovers deep in Purdue territory. In week two, it was a lack of offensive output after being gifted 14 points en route to a 20-point first half and a 6-point halftime lead.
Iowa failed to score in the second half and generally looked nothing like we had hoped to see on the offensive side of the ball with first year starter Spencer Petras throwing more than 50 times in just his second start and the run game looking putrid when it was tried.
As we turn to week three, Iowa faces off with a Michigan State team that has played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Spartans looked as abysmal as the Hawkeyes in their week one loss to Rutgers, but bounced back to get a road win over #23 Michigan in week two. Which one will we see in Kinnick this week? Can the Hawkeyes put together anything resembling a competent offense without their star receiver?
Everything you need to know in advance and in review of week two’s game can be found in the below stream.
Date: Saturday, November 7th
Time: 11:00am CT
Matchup: Michigan State Spartans (1-1) at Iowa Hawkeyes (0-2)
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA
TV: ESPN
Line: Iowa -9, O/U 50.5
Result: W, 49-7
History
The Hawkeyes and Spartans are nearly dead even in the all-time series. The Hawkeyes hold a slight advantage at 23-22-2, but haven’t beaten Michigan State since 2012 and they haven’t won against MSU in Iowa City since Tyler Sash and Micah Hyde sent Kinnick into a frenzy with a wild tandem interception return for a touchdown.
Michigan State has won four of the last five meetings, including a gut-wrenching win in the 2015 Big Ten Championship Game, and six of the last ten overall. This will be the first matchup since 2004 not featuring Kirk Ferentz vs. Mark Dantonio. We’ll see how first year coach Mel Tucker chooses to approach the matchup against the Hawkeyes.