Michigan State Football: Positional report card from Iowa victory

Michigan State football pulled off a big win over Iowa in Week 5, but how did each position group grade out?

Another week of Michigan State football is in the books and this time, Spartan fans feel good heading into the Michigan game. Last year, the Spartans were 2-5 by the time they faced the Wolverines and dropped a tough one, 32-23, in East Lansing.

Michigan State is hoping for a better result in Ann Arbor Saturday. The last time these two met at the Big House, the “trouble with the snap” game happened. Will Michigan State have that same good luck this time around?

Time will tell, but one thing is for certain: the win over Iowa in Week 5 has fans feeling more confident heading into the matchup against Michigan. Heck, the players seem to be exuding confidence as well — and they should be.

Here’s the positional report card from the Spartans’ win over Iowa.

For yet another week, Michigan State’s offensive line is the subject of conversation for the wrong reasons. There is plenty of talent on this line, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not being utilized correctly and the run blocking has been sub-par, at best.

The Spartan running backs couldn’t find any creases against the Hawkeyes on Saturday evening and some of that had to do with Iowa’s front-seven playing a great game, but the remaining portion was on the offensive line. The run game hasn’t been effective this season despite having three talented backs to carry the load.

A 2.2 yards per carry average on 40 touches is not going to cut it in Big Ten play. Luckily, the Spartans were able to dominate Iowa’s rushing attack as well, holding the Hawkeyes to 19 yards, so the lack of a run game didn’t backfire completely.

The pass protection was slightly better as Brian Lewerke was sacked twice and hurried just once. Time to figure out why the run blocking isn’t working.