The Spartans may have slipped by Iowa 31-28 in today’s Homecoming game at Spartan Stadium. But MSU played like MSU - it topped off its big plays with even bigger turnovers.
Senior defensive tackle Josh Shaw had the first crowd pleaser in the opening series, intercepting a pass from Hawkeye quarterback Kyle McCann, who had four interceptions in the loss.
Three plays later, sophomore Jeff Smoker connected with senior receiver Herb Haygood on a 47-yard slant that placed the Spartans on the Iowa 1-yard line.
After an MSU offsides penalty set the offense back five yards, junior running back T.J. Duckett rumbled his way into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown run.
Freshman kicker Dave Rayner capped off the score with the extra point. Rayner, who finished hitting all four extra points and a field goal, earned the starting job over senior David Schaefer, who has only hit one field goal this season. Schaefer only saw action on kickoffs.
MSU answered again in its second series of the game, thanks to a 13-yard Smoker pass to sophomore wide receiver Charles Rogers.
The score gave the Spartans a 14-point cushion with less than six minutes left in the first quarter.
But the Hawkeyes countered - McCann led a 61-yard scoring drive to the MSU 1-yard line. He connected on three passes, including a 19-yard bomb to wide receiver C.J. Jones.
The MSU defense, which was missing two starting cornerbacks, held Iowa two straight times, but couldn’t stop this drive. McCann ran a 1-yard sneak to give the Hawkeyes their first score of the game, making it 14-7
But Smoker, who finished with 179 yards passing, came back with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive on the next series. He connected with Haygood on a 15-yard touchdown pass deep in the end zone with just under 10 minutes left in the half.
The Hawkeyes punted on their next possession, and MSU committed its first near-deadly mistake of the game. On MSU’s first play, Iowa defensive lineman Derrick Pickens sacked Smoker. Smoker fumbled the ball, and Hawkeye defensive lineman Aaron Kampman recovered it on MSU’s 3-yard line.
Two plays later, McCann tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Oliver, cutting the Hawkeye deficit to 21-14.
But MSU proved it wasn’t out of big plays itself.
On the ensuing kickoff, Haygood set an MSU record, returning a kickoff 100 yards for a score.
The play made Haygood, who finished covering 240 total yards, the first player in MSU history to have kickoff returns for touchdowns in two consecutive games. He returned one late in the fourth quarter against Northwestern on Sept. 29.
But a big play meant another mishap was on the way.
This time, it was in the form of a blocked punt. Two series later, senior punter Craig Jarrett set up to punt from MSU’s 19-yard line. Hawkeye receiver Tim Dodge knocked it down and returned the ball 17 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run for running back Ladell Betts.
That left MSU up 28-21 at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, MSU creeped down the field on its opening drive and got Rayner into field goal position. He knocked down a 22-yard attempt that was only MSU’s second field goal conversion of the season.
With the score at 31-21, MSU’s defense clamped down. Iowa’s next two possesions ended with MSU junior cornerback Broderick Nelson’s second interception of the game and a Hawkeye missed field goal.
But the Spartan turnovers kept coming. Smoker fumbled the ball with 57 seconds left, leaving the Hawkeyes at their 42-yard line. For that final minute, McCann dominated the field, throwing 38-yards and rushing 14 yards to MSU’s 1-yard line.
With six seconds left, McCann kept the ball and lunged into the end zone, getting the last second score, to leave the Hawkeyes dangling 31-28 with only six seconds left in the game.
The Spartans continued to have costly penalties, this time getting eight for 58 yards. The Hawkeyes had 11 penalties for 63 yards.
