Iowa Coach Was Not Happy with Defense vs. Michigan State

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz was not happy at all with his team's defense against Michigan State.

Oct 5, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz walks back to the sidelines after a time out against Ohio State Buckeyes in the third quarter during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes did not come ready to play on Saturday evening against the Michigan State Spartans. Right off the bat, it was clear that the team was in trouble.

When the final whistle blew, the final score reflected just how bad of a game it was for Iowa. They ended up losing to Michigan State by a final score of 32-20.

Of course, Cade McNamara struggled again. His latest poor performance should make the Hawkeyes make the decision to bench him and give Brendan Sullivan a chance. However, it was the defensive side of the football that was the biggest negative surprise.

Giving up 32 points alone was a bad enough statistic. Looking futher into the loss and how the Spartans scored 32 points makes it even worse.

Iowa ended up allowing Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles to complete 22 of his 30 passes for 256 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Forcing the interception was great, but the overall numbers were unacceptable. They also only sacked him twice.

On the ground, the Hawkeyes gave up 212 total yards and a touchdown. They simply could not win at the line and paid the price with the loss.

Following the game, head coach Kirk Ferentz spoke out briefly about the defense and his unhappiness with their performance was clear.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve played a game like that defensively," Ferentz said.

After receiving some hype throughout the week leading up to the game of being a potential contender to get into the Big Ten championship, those dreams are now all but dead.

It would take a lot for the Hawkeyes to get back to that potential level.

Putting up that kind of a poor performance was a massive disappointment, to say the least. The team should be embarrassed and they clearly are not in the good graces of their head coach.