Michigan State Football: 3 keys to keep an eye on vs. Iowa
By Carlos Araoz
Michigan State football travels to Iowa on Saturday afternoon to take on the Hawkeyes and here are the three keys for the Spartans.
Michigan State is riding a huge wave of momentum after their incredible win last week against their bitter rivals. They have to play just as ferociously and be equally as well-prepared vs. Iowa because no matter what, Iowa always seems to provide the Spartans with a tough test.
The Hawkeyes lost their first two games of the season by a combined five points. They are a couple of plays away from being 2-0.
If MSU can handle their business as it relates to the following keys, they should be able to keep the hype train rolling.
1. Establish an effective ground game
The overall performance of Michigan State’s trio of running backs was underwhelming during their season opener, outside of a few nifty totes by true freshman Jordon Simmons. The tailbacks were better in a week two victory on the road at Michigan yet there is still plenty of room left for improvement. Simmons was solid once again (except when he was chased down from behind on a long run in the first half) and Connor Heyward was terrific catching balls out of the backfield (with two crucial touchdown receptions) although he was unproductive whenever he took a handoff.
The maulers up front kept Rocky Lombardi’s jersey clean all afternoon and opened up enough holes to help Spartan ball carriers more than double their grand total of rushing yards from week one to Week 2.
Purdue’s Zander Horvath carved up Iowa’s defense for 129 rushing yards a couple of weeks back.
A week ago, Northwestern’s offense rushed for 143 yards on 60 carries. Yes, 60 carries. Iowa’s defense is vulnerable at times and there are yards available for the taking if MSU’s linemen can consistently execute their blocking assignments. If the trend continues as planned for MSU, they are due for a excellent showing three weeks in from their running backs. This is becoming more and more likely as Lombardi continues to throw the ball efficiently as this will prevent defenses from loading defenders into the box.
Icing on the cake would be the reemergence of Elijah Collins.