Michigan State Football: 5 overreactions from Iowa victory

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EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 30: Linebacker Chris Frey #23 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after recovering a fumble by wide receiver Brandon Smith of the Iowa Hawkeyes and returning it 11 yards during the third quarter at Spartan Stadium on September 30, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State defeated Iowa 17-7. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

2. Spartan defense is back to 2013 form

Go back and watch Saturday’s game against Iowa and you’ll see a Spartan defense hungrier and more effective than it’s been in years. The Spartans were quick to the ball, didn’t give up many big plays and were just aggressive. The play-calling defensively was phenomenal as well.

You may never hear something like that since defensive play-calling is severely underrated and overlooked by the casual fan, but the blitzes and switches which led to constant pressures of Nathan Stanley were impressive.

The Spartans finished with three sacks and eight quarterback hurries which shows just how aggressive the unit was. Stanley was only able to go down field a couple of times and he finished with 192 passing yards and no touchdowns (was the Big Ten’s TD leader before the game) on just 16-of-31 completions.

Some were led to say that the defense is back to its 2013 form, which is a stretch since that was arguably the best defense in the Mark Dantonio era. Does it have a similar feel? Yes, but the Spartans haven’t faced any elite offenses.

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