And while Mark Dantonio wasn’t happy with the result of Saturday’s game, the fourth-year MSU head coach isn’t ready to throw in the towel on the 2010 season.

“We still have a lot of great opportunities in front of us,” Dantonio said. “We are still an 8-1 football team, and we have to recognize that.”

The loss knocks the Spartans out of their spot alone at the top of the Big Ten standings in the loss column. But with three games remaining, MSU still is in a tie for first place and controls its own destiny in a congested conference race.

“That’s the first thing we talked about,” Dantonio said of what he told his team in the locker room.

Dantonio said he emphasized the positives of the Spartans’ position in the league standings to his players after the game, rather than focusing on what took place on the field.

Junior quarterback Kirk Cousins, who threw three interceptions in the loss, said MSU ran into a “buzzsaw” Saturday, playing an Iowa team that was coming off a tough loss to Wisconsin last week. And although he said the lopsided defeat stings right now, he is confident the team will rebound.

“I have a better feeling after this loss than some of them from last season,” Cousins said. “We still have a lot to play for.”

In the midst of a season where the Spartans have been down in a number of games and always responded, MSU will have to bounce back from a loss for the first time.

Sophomore defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said the fact the Spartans have had to deal with adversity all season will help the players as they try to put the loss behind them.

“We just have to go back to the drawing board and regroup,” Worthy said. “I know our football team, we’ve been down before. We’re going to work our butts off this week.”

The Spartans return home next Saturday to take on Minnesota at Spartan Stadium. And now, after the MSU players have been brought back to earth following their fast start to the season, Dantonio said he expects the Spartans to come to practice hungry and prepared to shake off the loss to the Hawkeyes.

“Everybody has been patting us on the back for quite a few weeks here, so now they will kick us to the curb a little bit,” Dantonio said. “We will respond and be ready to play next week and move forward.”