This Underrated Factor Played a Huge Role in Michigan State's Upset Win Over Iowa
Michigan State had the last week off to recover from a brutal schedule during the first half of the season. Entering their home matchup against Iowa, the Spartans had lost their previous three games. However, two of those losses came against Oregon, which was recently voted the best team in the county, and Ohio State.
The Spartans’ matchup against Iowa was challenging but not nearly as difficult as facing Ohio State and Oregon in consecutive weeks.
Still, the Hawkeyes boast the Big Ten’s leading rusher, Kaleb Johnson. Coach Jonathan Smith prioritized stopping Johnson and the Hawkeyes’ rushing attack and did a solid job overall.
While Johnson nearly ran for 100 yards, 75 of his 98 yards came on one rush. The Spartans held Johnson to 23 yards on his other 13 carries on the day. Michigan State held Johnson to 98 yards, and he currently averages nearly 150 rushing yards per game.
Smith credited his defense with executing the game plan at a high level. After the game, Smith shared how excited he was for the defense after a productive game. The Spartans played well enough to end their losing streak and potentially begin another one.
Smith acknowledged the part his defense played in the win.
"Gang tackling. We had to do it as a team,” Smith said after the victory. “Those guys needed to fit the runs, but we've got to get more than one guy to the ball. That guy's a big-time back. I thought we did a good job with it. Multiple guys getting there, starts with the D-line up front, creating some havoc, and tackling him well. Because we did. Throughout the night, besides one run, that was a huge run, they get within a score and for us to respond the way we did was huge.
"Just happy for them, because those guys have been working. It is a physical brand. We want to be known as being able to play that style of physical football. Did a good job. It starts up front, but even I look at some of the secondary guys coming up. Chuck makes another big-time tackle. That was a one-on-one tackle. Got on the edge, Chuck cuts him down. So we played some good team defense."
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Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.