For the second week in a row the Hawkeyes face off against a team whose mascot is an ancient Greek warrior, or at least some derivation thereof. Thankfully this version of the Spartans bears strikingly
little resemblance to King Leonidas or any of his 299 warriors on their way to Thermopylae. I could probably spend hours talking about how Frank Miller’s “The 300” (and it’s big-screen adaptation) have done a grave historical disservice to the other ~7,000 Greek warriors that fought the Persians army at that narrow pass in the mountains (especially the ~700 Thespians who died alongside Leonidas’ Spartan contingent at one of history’s most misremembered, and mythologized, “Last Stands”), but I digress.
Not unlike the Battle of Thermopylae (regardless of the bad history, which made for an incredible Graphic Novel, a highly entertaining – and stylish – movie, and one of the most overused memes/sayings of recent history), the matchup between the Hawks and Sparty on Saturday could very well represent the last stand for one HC, though it’s certainly not Kirk Ferentz. Jonathan Smith’s Spartans are 0-7 in B18 play this season and 8-14 overall across his first two seasons, which likely puts him on the chopping block. Throw in the recently announced sanctions on the program stemming from serious infractions perpetrated by Mel Tucker’s staff, the outlook for MSU football for the next few years is a little bleak. Given those limitations, he might earn a reprieve and get another shot, but at this point this team is playing for it’s life.
THE OFFENSE
Iowa’s offense sprinted out of the blocks last Saturday against a USC defense that, well, still isn’t very good. Mark Gronowski hit a couple of really nice long passes and the Trojans didn’t have much of an answer for anything Iowa wanted to do. Topping it off with a Philly Special seemed to put Iowa in the driver seat to, at the very least, have a shot at getting back to national relevance by ending it’s 12 game losing streak to ranked teams. Then there was halftime. The version of Iowa’s offense that we saw in the second half was, sadly, all too familiar. Disjointed, inefficient, and suddenly quite incapable against a defense that hadn’t found some silver bullet in the locker room. It was, in a word, disappointing.
Meanwhile, USC seemed to find an extra gear and their two (soon to be playing on Sunday) receiver tandem of Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane seemed to have developed some sort of power that turned their upper bodies into football magnets, and we all watched the Trojans regain the lead in a way that was just utterly deflating (the refs may have helped a bit as well – can a brother get a SINGLE holding call?) while Iowa posted 2 straight scoreless quarters.
Thankfully, this Spartan team has almost none of the weapons that USC does. There’s no Jayden Maiava to heave passes while escaping our pass rush, no Makai Lemon/Ja’Kobi Lane to make impossible catches, and no King Miller to run through the gaps that our LB’s just couldn’t seem to close last Saturday. Iowa may not have some of it’s top players on the Offensive line, but the backups should be more than enough to overpower a MSU defense that’s allowing ~371 ypg on the ground and through the air. Throw in Gronowski’s running chops and you likely have a recipe for putting up a couple hundred yards on the ground, and hopefully north of 30 points on the scoreboard.
Let’s be frank, this Iowa team has little to play for at this point aside from each other, and that’s still something. This is a team that has been grinding all season, a team that has played hard for 60 minutes every week, so even if the playoff aspirations are off the table and this is really just about positioning themselves for a bowl game somewhere warm, I know that there is still plenty of fight left in this team. After two straight heartbreakers, they’re likely to be looking to put a hurting on whoever walks into Kinnick on Saturday.
THE DEFENSE
USC had to make some truly spectacular plays to beat Iowa last week in LA, fortunately for them they have the athletes to make them. Michigan State does not have those athletes. Phil Parker’s defense is currently ranked #6 in total defense, #9 in scoring defense and Yards per play allowed, and #5 SP+ (hell, Iowa is the #17 team in the country according to SP+ rankings), and they are likely going to be looking for a shutout on Senior Day. This will, likely, be the last game in Kinnick for 13 members of the defense including stalwarts like Ethan Hurkett, Max Llewellyn, Aaron Graves, and Xavier Nwankpa. Those 4, especially, will be fired up to make a statement on their way out, and three of them should have significant opportunities to make big plays in the backfield given Sparty’s offensive line woes. They’ve spent the last two weeks lining up against two of the best offenses (#11 and #6 in total offense respectively) in the country, on Saturday they line up against the 110th ranked offense in the country, so there should be plenty of room to make some hay.
Now, Michigan State is not without weapons. Alessio Milivojevic is a talented freshman who could be the future at QB for MSU, provided that they can keep him upright, RB tandem Makhi Frazier and Elijah Tau-Tolliver should not be dismissed, and Nick Marsh is a threat on the outside, but when you stack them up against the talent we’ve seen the last two weeks, the gap is pretty stark. This offensive line has allowed 35 sacks this season (including 14 over the last two weeks – Minnesota sacked Milivojevi 9 times two weeks ago, 9 TIMES!), which bodes well for an Iowa defense that is, I’m sure, quite eager to prove (one more time) that they are up to the task of winning games in the B18.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kaden Wetjen will be making his final appearance in an Iowa uniform Saturday night (barring a decision that his two years at Iowa Western don’t count against his eligibility) so I’m sure that he will be looking to make one last big return to take sole possession of Iowa’s all-time record for return TD’s. We all already hold our breath everytime he touches the ball in a return situation, so let’s hope that Sparty doesn’t chicken out and kick away from him all night.
Drew Stevens will also be making his final appearance at Kinnick tomorrow and will certainly be looking to pad his all-time FG record (71 FGM) before he makes his exit. He may not have had the senior season that we all hoped he would (and know that he’s capable of), but he’s been one of the most reliable weapons in Kirk’s arsenal for 4 years. Let’s just say this, Caden Buhr has some BIG shoes to fill next year, I hope he’s been paying attention.
Look, Michigan State is not a good football team right now, and they may not be a good football team for a while, but that doesn’t mean that they are an unworthy opponent, and I have no doubt that the guys will be fired up to get the Seniors one more win in Kinnick. Everyone expects Iowa to win this game, probably even a good number of the players that will be lining up on the opposite sideline, and I don’t know how much fight is left in this Spartans team, but rest assured, they won’t just lie down, so I expect a fight, if only for a half.
We all know that tomorrow’s game has no national implications, it won’t change the course of the season or be remembered years from now, but it’s a guarantee that it means a lot to the 105 players in the home locker room, and even more to the 27 kids that will be donning the Black & Gold for the last time at Kinnick. This class of Seniors deserves to go out on a high note, let’s hope that they are ready to make their last run an impressive one.
As Always, GO HAWKS!!!
