After five home games to start the season and a bye week, the MSU football team heads into its first road game of the season.
In the last game of the homestand, the Spartans (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated Northwestern 39-24 in the Big Ten opener on Sept. 28.
The Spartans look for a second conference win when they clash with the Iowa Hawkeyes at 12:05 p.m. EST Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.
Playing in Iowa City hasn’t yielded the most favorable outcomes for MSU in recent years. The Hawkeyes (5-1, 2-0) lead the all-time series in Iowa 9-8-1, but the Spartans haven’t won there since 1989.
Spartan head coach Bobby Williams said playing at Iowa is one of the hardest places to play in the conference and the team has practiced to prepare for the noise.
“Kinnick Stadium is probably one of the toughest stadiums in the conference because of the crowd noise,” he said. “Their crowd really gets behind their team and it really makes it hard for the opposing team to come in there and play.
“Of all the times that I’ve been there, the crowd noise has been probably the biggest factor. Last time we were there we had four false starts and that was because of the crowd noise.”
In most cases, scoring points early is the best way to quiet a rowdy crowd. In the conference opener, MSU scored on its first drive for the first time this season and mounted 20 first half points. The Spartans only totaled 10 points in the first halves of the last three games.
Junior wide receiver Charles Rogers said beating Iowa, which has won three straight games, isn’t going to be an easy task.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “We’re looking forward to going in there and trying to take the crowd out early and get a win.”
Rogers, a Heisman Trophy candidate, leads MSU with 32 receptions for 687 yards and seven touchdowns. The opportunity to increase those numbers seem likely since Iowa is ranked 116th in pass defense.
Even though the Spartans will look to Rogers for big plays, the running game will be key to keep Iowa’s offense off the field. MSU has failed to rush for 100 yards in three games this season, however, they rushed for 276 yards against the Wildcats. Senior tailback Dawan Moss led the way with a career-high 191 yards and a touchdown.
But moving the ball through the ground game may be tougher against the Hawkeyes who are second in the nation in run defense, allowing 56.3 yards per game.
Sophomore offensive guard William Whitticker said the offensive line used the bye week to work on its technique.
“We’re looking to go out there and play hard and execute,” he said. “We’re playing a very good defense in Iowa so we just wanted to work hard.”
Iowa’s offense might be the surprise of the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes have the Big Ten’s most efficient passer and leading rusher in quarterback Brad Banks and running back Fred Russell, respectively. Together they’ve helped Iowa average 39.7 points per game, which leads the Big Ten.
Banks is averaging 205.2 passing yards per game and has thrown 12 touchdowns to two interceptions.
Russell has racked up 722 yards and five touchdowns, while averaging six yards per carry.
Iowa tight end Dallas Clark and receivers Ed Hinkel and C.J. Jones also are threats.
“It’s one of the better collections of offensive personnel we’ve seen,” MSU defensive coordinator Bill Miller said. “We have our hands full.”
