Michigan State football: Miscues, sloppy play doom Spartans at Iowa

Miscues and sloppy play were the difference between a two-game winning streak for Michigan State football and a blowout loss at Iowa.

A week after Michigan State’s program was the talk of the college football world following their defeat of Michigan, they were thoroughly embarrassed by Iowa, 49-7. Buckle up. The roller coaster ride looks like it won’t be coming to an end anytime soon.

Below are several developments that left Spartan fans scratching their heads:

The coaching staff continued to send Rocky Lombardi in, drive after drive, even when the game was well out of hand. Lombardi shouldn’t have seen the field after halftime. Michigan State should have used the second half to give Payton Thorne and Theo Day some valuable game experience.

Lombardi was ineffective (20 incompletions to go along with three costly interceptions) and banged up (it appeared as though his left leg was causing him some discomfort). Other than a decent showing to beat Purdue back in 2018 and last week’s gem vs. Michigan (which in the history books, could end up as the ultimate anomaly of his career), Lombardi has been anything but stellar throughout his MSU career which leaves the fanbase feeling uneasy moving forward.

With a shortened season upon us, MSU’s coaches must be willing to give their young quarterbacks behind him a look if Lombardi’s shortcomings persist.

Special teams play for the Spartans was horrendous. Both of Michigan State’s punters struggled mightily. Bryce Baringer and Mitchell Crawford didn’t get enough distance or hang time on their punts. The awful coverage once balls were booted away was painful to watch.

Hawkeye return man Charlie Jones had himself a field day, averaging 21 yards per punt return — 21 yards a return is an acceptable chunk of yardage to surrender on kick returns, not punt returns. Jones took a line drive punt 54 yards into the end zone just before halftime. That score put Iowa up 28-0 and the rout was on at that point.

Speaking of punting, a Michigan State converted punter scored their only touchdown of the day. Yes, you read that correctly. Tyler Hunt scored on a jet sweep in the third quarter. He was the starting punter for a handful of games in 2018 and he also serves as the emergency kicker. Here he is against Iowa as a “tight end” — a 6-foot-2, 235-pound tight end. That’s what it’s come down to.

Michigan State has long been known for shutting down the ground game of their opponents. Iowa won the battle of the trenches and dominated with the run to the tune of 41 carries for 226 yards (5.5 yards per rush) and four touchdowns.

The sporadic absence of Antjuan Simmons during the middle of the contest surely played a factor in the MSU’s inability to control the line of scrimmage yet it was still a shock to see the Spartans repeatedly get punished by Iowa’s blockers and backs all afternoon.

While Tyler Goodson and Co. thrived as they easily dashed through gaping holes, Michigan State’s tailbacks reverted back to their Week 8 form when they scuffled against Rutgers. Against Iowa, MSU’s backs carried the ball 32 times for a meager total of 59 yards (that equates to 1.8 yards per carry). A startling indication of just how futile they were in this facet of the offense is that their long carry of the day was a mere nine yards. Ouch.

The schedule the rest of way is brutal with no easy victory in sight. The Spartans must clean up their execution if they hope to win another game or two.