Instead of pressing panic, Dantonio brainwashed his guys into playoff mode, convincing them the last four games were do-or-die. And the team has responded exactly how he wanted.

Nebraska lost to Northwestern, and for the first time since 1989, MSU won in Iowa City in statement fashion, pounding the Hawkeyes, 37-21.

Now, with Senior Day and the last two games against Indiana and Northwestern (team’s with a combined 2-10 conference record) quickly approaching, the Spartans just need to avoid putting the season on autopilot.

Here’s my positive and negatives to take from the Iowa game the team can build on going forward:

Play-calling
Got to give credit where credit is due. MSU’s Dan Roushar called a great game Saturday, establishing the ground game to open up passing zones for Kirk Cousins. The offense went for 155 rushing yards and 260 yards through the air. For the first time this season, it seemed like a complete unit.

Roushar had some riskier play calls, such as a fake field goal run — named “Gold” by the MSU coaching staff. With the score being 31-7 at the time, it was controversial, but, leading to a field goal, proved to be huge by the game’s end. All around, the offense played really well, and utilizing running backs Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell in the passing attack proved he had an solid game plan.

Front seven
This was a huge test for a defensive line that allowed 310 rushing yards the previous two games. The challenge wasn’t any easier against the conference’s former leading rusher in running back Marcus Coker, who lost that title after Saturday’s loss to the Spartans.

Coker was held to 57 yards and only one 2-yard score. Sophomore linebacker Max Bullough was flying around, recording 13 tackles on the day. It was a big step for a line that might need to prepare for a rematch with Wisconsin running back Montee Ball.

Special teams
Kirk Cousin’s arm, B.J. Cunningham’s hands and now Mike Sadler’s foot are among the most important weapons possessed by the Spartans.

The redshirt freshman, who was honored by the Big Ten for the second straight week, winning Freshman of the Week for his performance, booted three punts inside the Iowa 20-yard line and totaled a season-best 46.2 yards per punt.

Dan Conroy also was 3-of-4 on field goals.

And now for the one negative I took from Saturday.

Took foot off the gas
I heard one reporter at the game say, “This might be the biggest deficit the Hakweyes have faced since 2007,” at halftime. That was going to be the story. One year after getting demolished 37-6 in front of a rowdy Hawkeye crowd, MSU was set to send a message to Iowa that payback really stinks.

But then the home team battled back, scoring 14 unanswered points and making it a two-possession game. That’s really the only pressing issue taken from this game.

After halftime, the team became lax, making a silent stadium turn electric in minutes. MSU hung on but can’t have that happen moving forward, especially with Northwestern on the schedule.

Take it from the Huskers: bad things happen when you put your season on autopilot, even for a week.

Anthony Odoardi is a State News football reporter. He can be reached at odardia@msu.edu