MSU defeats Iowa in what may have been ugly game

The struggles of last year’s MSU football team are well documented.

The Spartans went 7-6, with all six losses coming by seven points or less.

That trend continued in the 2008 season opener against California, where the Spartans once again found themselves staring at another loss by seven points, with a 38-31 outcome.

In 2007, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio repeatedly said the main thing to take away from those losses was that the Spartans were in the position to get the win. After the Cal game, Dantonio said the same thing; getting in the position to get the win was the first step, and when the team finds itself there, it was up to someone to make a play.

Saturday’s 16-13 win over Iowa could have been a similar scenario. True, MSU was up the entire game, but in a physical, low-scoring game such as Saturday’s, anything can happen.

With 7:40 remaining in the game, the Hawkeyes took over at their own 45-yard line. Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi hit wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos for a 9-yard gain. On the next three plays, Shonn Greene, who pounded the MSU defense all day for 157 yards, picked up 15 yards to put Iowa at MSU’s 30-yard line.

The Hawkeyes picked up nine more yards, then called a timeout with 2:16 remaining as they faced a fourth-and-inches situation.

It could’ve gotten ugly

In my mind, and I’m sure in many of yours, there was no decision to be made. Kick the 38-yard field goal, tie the game and, more than likely, head to overtime.

But Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz thought differently and sent his offense back out. The Spartans, expecting the Hawkeyes to try a quarterback sneak, sent out five down linemen with one intention — explode to the middle and stop the quarterback.

Instead, Stanzi handed the ball off to Greene, who quickly cut to his left. Junior linebacker Adam Decker met Greene just before the line of scrimmage and pushed him back three yards to end the potential game-tying — or game winning — drive.

A building block

Was Saturday’s win a come-from-behind victory? A game where senior quarterback Brian Hoyer proved he could lead a comeback drive?

No, but honestly, did you really expect the Spartans to get the stop? And not only make the stop, but stop the Hawkeyes so convincingly that the chain-gang didn’t even have to trot out onto the field?

“I just know that there’s something special about this football team right now,” Dantonio said after the game. “Somehow, someway, we’ve been able to reach each other a little bit and play through some difficult times. I guess that’s football character on the field, and that’s something we need to continue to develop and we need to win the close games.”

Saturday’s Homecoming was a close game, and for the first time since last year’s regular season finale, the Spartans came out on top in a game decided by seven points or less.

How Decker and the Spartans secured the close win wasn’t in the way most of us would have thought, with all too often the focus of a team’s success shifted toward the offensive side of the ball.

But, whether it was an MSU team earning a win by coming from behind or preserving the lead, it really doesn’t’ matter. All that matters is that in the end, the Spartans got the “W.” And, in the end, someone stepped up and made a big play.

Cash Kruth is a State News football reporter. He can be reached at kruthcas@msu.edu.

Published on Sunday, October 5, 2008