A strong effort by T.J. Duckett wasn’t enough to keep Iowa winless.
Hawkeye receiver Kevin Kasper fended off Spartan defenders and took a screen pass 43 yards to lift Iowa over the Spartans 21-16.
MSU falls to 3-2 overall, 0-2 Big Ten. Iowa improves to 1-5, 1-1.
Duckett, a sophomore tailback, had a career day for MSU. After only gaining 71 yards against Northwestern, the Kalamazoo native shouldered the load on offense, rushing 30 times for 248 yards, improving upon his old career-high of 219 yards.
Junior quarterback Ryan Van Dyke played for the first time since the Sept. 9 Marshall game.
MSU struggled on special teams. Junior kicker David Schaefer had two kicks blocked. Junior punter Craig Jarrett wasn’t consistent, having short punts go 23 and 5 yards. Iowa also returned kickoff for a touchdown.
The only positive thing to happen on special teams was a fumble recovery on a punt by senior cornerback DeMario Suggs.
With freshman Jon Beutjer leading the Hawkeye offense, Iowa used a steady mix of passing and running.
On their opening possession, the Hawkeyes went 75 yards in 14 plays to take the early lead with a Ladell Betts touchdown run. Iowa threatened to score again, but fullback Jeremy Allen fumbled at the MSU 18-yard line and junior cornerback Cedric Henry recovered for the Spartans.
MSU was ineffective offensively in the first quarter, going three-downs-and-out on its first two possessions. Iowa led 7-0 after one quarter.
Duckett gained 128 yards in the second quarter after being held to 14 yards in the first quarter.
Duckett broke long runs of 50 and 38 yards to set up the two MSU scores.
On the first score, Van Dyke found senior tight end Ivory McCoy in the end zone to pull MSU within one, 7-6. However, junior kicker David Schaefer was unable to tie the game as he had his extra point attempt blocked.
MSU took a 9-7 lead shortly before the half when Schaefer converted a 23-yard field goal attempt.
Duckett extended the Spartan lead to 16-7 with 1:22 left in the third quarter after running 31 yards for his first touchdown of the day.
Iowa quickly countered when Hill dodged would-be tacklers and returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to keep the Hawkeyes within two points, 16-14.
With less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, Schaefer had another kick blocked, this time a 24-yard field goal attempt.
Iowa gained a 21-16 lead with 2:47 left in regulation when wide receiver Kevin Kasper took a screen pass 43-yards to the end zone.
Van Dyke tried to rally the Spartans, but had a pass deflected and intercepted by linebacker LeVar Woods with 1:54 left in the game. He had one more chance to score with 47 seconds left, but came up empty.
