WATCH: Michigan State Coach Jonathan Smith Looks Ahead to Iowa

Michigan State football coach Jonathan Smith and his squad have another tough challenge ahead when they host Iowa this weekend.

Sep 28, 2024; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Jonathan Smith watches from the sidelines during the fourth quarter as the Ohio State Buckeyes defeat his team at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images / Dale Young-Imagn Images

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State's brutal schedule continues this week as they come off the bye.

The Spartans will host Iowa for their homecoming game, another matchup under the lights.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith addressed the media on Monday, looking ahead to the challenge ahead.

You can watch below:

Below is Smith's opening statement:

Smith: "Well, bye week wrapped up, and I do think it came at a good time for us. Kind of about that midway point, played six games, the thorough look at, really, every play of those six games and analyzing a bunch of different ways. Looking for obviously, some tendencies, where we got to improve on some things we've done well, that we got to be able to build off of. I thought the coaches and the players did a nice job, with kind of doing that. Practice just on Wednesday last week. And then we did go last night, getting a little bit of a head start on Iowa. But I appreciate the approach the guys [took] through the week. And then there was some of just getting refreshed, a couple of days off, get their mind away from it. And so I was pleased with kind of how they approached the week. And now, we're headed into a big-time challenge coming on Saturday. Program I got a bunch of respect for -- the way they do things, the longevity of Coach [Kirk] Ferentz. Talk about one of the best in the business. I think I read that he just won his 200th game, which is just so impressive. I think it looks like an Iowa team that plays a physical brand of football -- running the thing, high-end defense, special teams is elite, they can beat you in the pass game offensively, a little bit on what they've shown in this first half the season, so we got a big-time challenge coming from Homecoming Weekend, so excited about getting a bunch of alumni back for a night game Saturday night."

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