Michigan State's Win Over Iowa Product of Successful Bye Week

After losing two games in a row against two of the best teams in the country, Michigan State's bye week could not have come at a better time. The Spartans made good use of their time off.

Oct 19, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back Nate Carter (5) celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes with his teammates at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images / Dale Young-Imagn Images

Michigan State had fallen on tough times, losing its last three games before their bye week last week.

To make matters worse, the Spartans’ three-game losing streak could have been shortened to a two-game losing streak had they played better against Boston College. Even without some of their best players, the Spartans nearly beat the Eagles. 

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith honestly assessed the team’s time off following three difficult losses. Smith acknowledged that the three losses weighed on the team but in a positive manner. Smith believes the time off following the three consecutive losses helped motivate and propel the team to its major win over Iowa.

"I think it speaks to a little bit that I think we've got some genuine belief in this locker room of, the approach and how they're going,” Smith said after Saturday's win. “You lose three straight games, and then you've got a week to really just think about it. I think it speaks to the culture that these guys, player-led, want to build around here. They have been bought in and going and still motivated. 

“I looked at the week of practice, felt the same way. And then again tonight. I think Iowa's a good football team now, so you're looking at these numbers and what we were able to do. I think it speaks a lot to the buy-in, the culture that's player-led around here."

Smith noted one of the most significant tweaks he and his coaching staff made over the bye week was having quarterback Aidan Chiles play more from the shotgun formation instead of from under center. Doing so helped lead to arguably Chiles’ best game as a Spartan. Chiles finished the game with over 250 passing yards and only eight incompletions against Iowa, helping the Spartans snap their three-game losing streak.

"I go to a little bit of scheme of you saw some more emphasis maybe playing out of the shotgun than under the center -- not that we just abandoned that,” Smith said. “That showed up. Don't want to give out all our secrets, we've still got five regular-season games left. But there were definitely some adjustments, some more emphasized than others, style of scheme, that we did tonight."

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