MSU's pass defense was no longer a weakness. The Spartans' sturdy secondary was all over the field, knocking down passes and laying out receivers.
Then, MSU played Iowa and allowed its quarterback to throw for a career-high 340 yards.
Iowa quarterback Drew Tate had a heck of a day and MSU's defensive backs did little to stop it.
"We couldn't cover their guys," MSU head coach John L. Smith admitted after his team lost 38-16 in Kinnick Stadium.
MSU ranked last in the Big Ten in pass defense last season, giving up an average of 255.2 passing yards per game. Four games into this season, the Spartans were much improved, ranking fifth in the conference and allowing only 175.5 passing yards per game.
Such an improvement was somewhat expected. Three of the four defensive backs this season are returning starters. The other, junior cornerback Jaren Hayes, was MSU's leading rusher last season.
The secondary's poor performance against Iowa was a sudden blow because it had played so well in games prior.
Against Indiana a week earlier, the defensive backs played probably their best game, picking off two passes while allowing Hoosiers quarterback Matt LoVecchio to complete only five passes for 44 yards in the second half.
After looking at film from the loss at Iowa, Smith concluded that MSU's cornerbacks played with poor technique, which made life easy for Tate and Iowa's receivers.
"We went away from all of the technique that we had worked and used this year up to this point," Smith said. "Why did we start hopping and doing things that we haven't done?"
Smith's assessment points to a simple solution for the defensive backs: Get focused and play the way you did the first four weeks of the season.
But that doesn't mean there was not room for improvement before MSU lost to Iowa. Hayes, in his first season at cornerback, had given up a few big plays but Smith said he's progressing on schedule.
MSU's defensive scheme under Smith places heavy responsibility on the cornerbacks. Some defenses rely on the safeties to help the cornerbacks over the top on deep routes. Although the Spartans' safeties occasionally help in coverage, it's usually up to the cornerbacks to contain opposing wideouts.
"We ask a lot of our corners in what we do because that's our scheme, and we demand a lot from those guys," Smith said.
Despite the burden on MSU's defensive backs, defensive linemen and linebackers have jobs to do so the pass defense is taut. Pressuring the opposing quarterback, which limits his time to find receivers, is essential. MSU is tied for eighth in sacks this season with seven, which isn't good enough, sophomore defensive end Clifton Ryan said.
"You want to get sacks, you want to take the pressure off the corners," he said. "I take it personal because those are my teammates, and I feel that it's my responsibility to get some pressure on the quarterback."
Some Spartans defenders have compared the defense to an engine reliant on every working part. So when one part isn't working, the whole defense is concerned.
Senior safety Jason Harmon said the key to fixing the current situation is playing with more emotion.
"We aren't going to lay down," he said. "We're trying to get more enthusiasm practicing, see if it will show in the game. If we play with emotion, we can put teams away."
Deputy sports editor Jonathan Malavolti contributed to this report.
