Good news, Spartan fans: there are only two Michigan State football games left.
Jonathan Smith and the Spartans will be in Iowa City on Saturday afternoon for the second-to-last game of the season, and the final road battle. The Iowa Hawkeyes present a tough matchup for Michigan State, like all of the past seven opponents have, and while their playoff hopes have officially been crushed with two straight heartbreaking losses to Oregon and USC.
Michigan State is a heavy underdog on Saturday afternoon, but it has been able to hang with a few teams during this losing streak like Nebraska, Minnesota, and Michigan.
Will today be any different than the rest of the season? Let’s get bold.
1. Alessio Milivojevic passes for over 200 yards
This might just be my boldest prediction, but it doesn’t seem that way to the casual fan. Throwing for 200 yards doesn’t seem like that much, but Iowa has the seventh-best passing defense in the country, allowing just 160 per game through the air.
What makes that even more impressive is the fact that the Hawkeyes have faced teams like Oregon, USC, Iowa State, Indiana, and Penn State. They’ve seen some talented quarterbacks this year.
With that said, I see Alessio Milivojevic rebounding from that Penn State performance (not on him, more on the offensive line) with a 200-plus yard performance with a touchdown and no picks.
2. MSU’s defense holds Iowa under 300 yards
OK, so this is also a little bolder than one would expect for a 3-7 team riding a seven-game losing streak, but the defense has been a little better than expected recently. That has to do with Joe Rossi being on the sidelines and his unit is feeding off his energy.
Iowa doesn’t exactly have an explosive offense, averaging just over 300 yards per game, but I think the Spartans hold them under their season average.
Michigan State may not out-gain Iowa, but it’ll hold the Hawkeyes under 300 yards.
3. MSU loses another heartbreaker
The spread for Michigan State vs. Iowa makes it clear that the Hawkeyes are heavy favorites, but that won’t stop the Spartans from making them sweat this one out.
Michigan State will strike first in the first quarter with a nice opening drive on scripted plays, but after that, Iowa will score two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead at the half. After that, Michigan State will pull within four with a field goal and then add another three to make it 14-13 in the fourth.
Unfortunately, a fumble and then a subsequent Iowa rushing touchdown will put the game away as Michigan State won’t be able to respond in the final minutes. I’m going with a 21-13 final in favor of the Hawkeyes. Great teams cover, right? Right?