“We weren’t losing this game,” senior safety Trenton Robinson said. “We’re in a race to be one of the first teams in Indianapolis playing for the Big Ten Championship, and we all want that very bad, so every game we go in, we have to win.”

With the win, the No. 13 Spartans snapped an Iowa City losing streak dating back to 1989. Robinson and MSU’s defense held Iowa running back Marcus Coker — who leads the conference averaging 122.3 yards per game — to 57 yards on 21 attempts.

The defense also sacked quarterback James Vandenberg three times and caught one interception, which the Spartans converted to a touchdown for the first time on the road this season.

On the other side, senior quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 18-of-31 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns, and sophomore running back Le’Veon Bell led Spartan rushers with 20 attempts for 112 yards and one touchdown.

“I though we were able to run the ball more effectively,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “I thought they ran with a mission in mind.

“It’s all encompassing — our team has to do this all together or it doesn’t work.”

MSU hit the ground running in the first half of the game, scoring first in the game for the first time since playing Ohio State.

On the Spartans’ first possession, Bell accounted for 28 of MSU’s 64 yards before Cousins threw a six-yard touchdown pass to wide open senior wide receiver B.J. Cunningham at 9:17 in the first quarter.

With MSU’s 7-0 lead, junior cornerback Johnny Adams intercepted Hawkeye quarterback James Vandenberg’s pass and returned it for 30 yards. Cousins then threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Edwin Baker at 7:37 to put the Spartans up by 14.

“We had (the play) in for multiple weeks; this week, it was called,” Baker said. “I was in on the play, and I did my best. … I catch the ball all the time in practice, so I was definitely confident.”

Up 14-7 in the second quarter, MSU added a field goal to its score at 7:37 from junior kicker Dan Conroy. The Spartans got as close at the two-yard line with the help of senior wide receiver Keshawn Martin — who had a 67-yard reception to advance up the field.

After Bell had a 25-yard touchdown run to make the score 24-7, the Hawkeyes were left with less than two minutes to score before the half.

Defensive back Jordan Bernstine fumbled his kick return from MSU, and senior tight end Brian Linthicum recovered it at the Iowa 27-yard line. On a second down, Cousins threw a 22-yard pass to Cunningham waiting in the end zone to make the score 31-7.

But just when it looked like Iowa would score three points before the half, junior defensive tackle Jerel Worthy blocked the 50-yard field goal attempt to keep MSU’s lead comfortable going into the second half.

“Sometimes you get guys at the end of the half — guys up front and in the middle — they try to take plays off,” Worthy said. “You just try to go at them as hard as you can, and that’s what I did.”

At the beginning of the third, the Spartans used a fake field goal on a fourth-and-three play to keep moving and ultimately line up Conroy for a second successful 31-yard field goal.

On the next drive, the Hawkeyes got their second touchdown, but MSU’s defense put up a fight first. Their fourth play inside MSU’s five-yard line resulted in a three-yard touchdown by wide receiver Marvin McNutt.

Heading into the fourth quarter with MSU ahead, 34-21, the Hawkeyes’ offense didn’t give up while their defense didn’t make things easy either. After Cousins was sacked on a third-and-17 play, Conroy kicked a 48-yard field goal, and redshirt freshman cornerback Tony Lippett sealed the deal by recovering a fumble on Iowa’s final possession.

“We’ve called (the four November matchups) playoff games because we win, and we’re in the driver’s seat, and we can keep doing what we want to do,” sophomore linebacker Max Bullough said.

“Obviously, we’re excited about this victory. It was a great win; guys came out and played really hard today, so we’re excited about today, and we know we still have some work left.”