3 Up, 3 Down: 4 Turnovers Sink Michigan State's Upset Chances At Iowa

For the second consecutive week, Michigan State outgained its opponent but costly turnovers and penalties once again proved catastrophic for the Spartans.

MSU fell to Iowa on Saturday night, 26-16, in a game in which they won time of possession (33:48-26:12), and had more total yards (349-222), first downs (20-14) and plays run (76-59). As a result, the Spartans fall to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play.

Here and three positive and three negative takeaways from tonight's game:

Three Up

1.) Nathan Carter and the MSU run game

This was the best we've seen Michigan State run the football against a Power 5 opponent since Kenneth Walker III was in the backfield. The Spartans were by far the better team in the trenches tonight, on both sides of the ball. Behind a big effort from Nathan Carter (108 yards on 20 carries), MSU ran for 156 rushing yards tonight and averaged 4.9 yards per carry.

Quarterback Noah Kim was utilized effectively in the run game as well, as he ran for 35 yards on six carries. Without offensive linemen Geno VanDeMark and Keyshawn Blackstock, MSU still managed to get a good push up front.

2.) Undermanned MSU defense stands tall

Iowa is about the furthest thing from an offensive juggernaut, but Michigan State was without starting linebacker Jacoby Windmon and starting cornerback Charles Brantley tonight, and stepped up huge anyway. The Spartans held the Hawkeyes to just 222 total yards, 3.8 yards per play and 2.3 yards per rush. Iowa converted only 2-of-13 third downs.

MSU's defense also came up with the biggest play of the game for the Spartans. After quarterback Noah Kim threw his second interception, defensive lineman Tunmise Adeleye forced a fumble the popped right into the arms of linebacker Cal Haladay, who returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. We got a winning performance from Michigan State's defense tonight, but the offenses' continued miscues cost them the victory.

3.) Kicker Jonathan Kim

Michigan State's kicking game was abysmal last season, but North Carolina transfer Jonathan Kim has brought stability this season. Tonight, Kim went 3-for-4 on field goals, including a big 58-yarder to end the half and bring the Spartans to within one point at the break.

Kim also added makes from 31 and 32 yards, and his miss was a 50-yarder that hit the upright. Not much has gone right for the Spartans this season, but Kim has been really good in his role at least.

Three Down

1.) Noah Kim's interceptions, Mosley's fumble

Noah Kim got off to a really strong start in this one, but once Iowa's defense adjusted the same struggles we've seen earlier this year showed up again.

The interceptions are starting to pile up for Michigan State's quarterback, who's already thrown six this year. The first one tonight wasn't entirely Kim's fault — there was a miscommunication with receiver Jaron Glover, who broke off his route when Kim expected him to continue to the back of the end zone. The second interception, however, was just a late and underthrown ball towards Montorie Foster from Kim.

Late in the game, senior Tre Mosley was injured on a big hit which resulted in him fumbling. That ended any hope for MSU to come back in this one. Mosley has been a great representative for the Spartans through a tough season, and that was a gut-punch. We hope the senior will be okay going forward.

Finally, Kim threw his third interception of the night on Michigan State's final drive on another underthrown ball. The redshirt junior finished with 193 yards on 25-for-44 passing (57%) and the three INTs. We've seen enough at this point. It's time for the Spartans to go to redshirt freshman Katin Houser as the starter.

2.) Horrible 4th down decision, play call

Michigan State's defense was controlling this game. That's why I hated Harlon Barnett's decision to go for it on fourth down from his own 30 yard line with a six-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Quarterback sneak is usually a pretty safe option on fourth-and-short, but with an undersized quarterback like Noah Kim, I would have preferred to see Jay Johnson dial up a run to Nathan Carter instead. Michigan State has struggled with short-yardage situations for multiple years running, and it bit them again here.

Michigan State's defense got a three-and-out immediately after, but the decision to go for it and the play call cost the Spartans three crucial points. In a field position game like this one, the right call was to punt it away. Instead, the stop gave a ton of momentum to Iowa and shifted the game the Hawkeyes' way.

3.) Costly penalties strike again...

Michigan State has been penalized 11 times, six times and 10 times in the last three games. Tonight, those 10 penalties resulted in 94 lost yards, and seemed to come at the worst time for the Spartans. MSU had several drives into Iowa territory halted by penalties, resulting in field goal attempts instead of touchdowns.

Defensively, Michigan State had Iowa backed up with a third-and-long from the seven yard line, and Ade Willie got hit with a pass interference penalty on a pass attempt the Hawkeyes had little chance of completing. What should have been a punt and good field position at a crucial moment for MSU turned into a first down for Iowa and allowed them to flip the field.

Then, on MSU's third to last offensive drive, the Spartans faced a crucial 3rd-and-3, had a false start, burned a timeout to avoid a delay of game and had another false start. Michigan State failed to convert, and gave up a game-losing punt return touchdown. The self-destructive mistakes continue to pile up for MSU. 

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