Spartans roared to a lead, only to watch Iowa surge back in the fourth quarter, crushing hopes for their first conference win.
Lights are too bright for Milivojevic and the Spartans.
Just like that, the Spartans had their first conference win ripped away. Michigan State battled harder than they have in many moons, but as everyone knows, coming close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. In football, a moral victory just becomes another “L” in the record books.
Michigan State has now lost eight conference games for the first time since 1953 — their very first year in the Big Ten. It’s a historic low for the program. But if you turned the game off after three and a half quarters, you’d be wondering how the Spartans didn’t come away with a win.
1st Quarter
The game started with a few early Iowa punches. The first came when star receiver Nick Marsh fumbled, and the Hawkeyes returned it for a touchdown — until further review overturned it because Marsh was out of bounds while touching the ball before it was picked up.
A few minutes later, Michigan State punted, and Iowa tore off a 50+ yard return, flipping momentum and field position. Luckily for MSU, Iowa tried to get greedy, pushing the ball downfield only for the Spartans to snag an interception.
Surely MSU would learn their lesson on punting to Iowa, right? Right?!
With three minutes left in the quarter, Jonathan Smith said “let’s see what happens” and tested the Iowa returner again. This time it wasn’t short. Kaden Wetjen took the punt to the house, finally giving Iowa a legitimate score. The quarter ended 7–0 Hawkeyes.
2nd Quarter
The second quarter was all defense — a classic field-position slog.
Milivojevic eventually guided the Spartans into the red zone, but the drive stalled, and MSU settled for a field goal. After getting the ball back with 11 seconds left in the half, Jonathan Smith dialed up a screen for an offense that had shown no rhythm outside of one late drive. It nearly cost them, as Milivojevic was intercepted.
Iowa brought out the field goal team, but in a rare stroke of luck for Michigan State fans, the kick missed. Halftime arrived with Iowa still leading 7–3.
3rd Quarter
Whatever was said in the locker room worked. For the first time in almost a month, the Michigan State offense woke up.
Milivojevic hit Chrishon McCray on a beautiful 45-yard touchdown to put MSU up 10–7. And with one minute left in the third, the Spartans looked like a real football team — balancing the run with Tau-Tolliver and Tullis, and moving the ball down the field at will.
Milivojevic found McCray again in the red zone for his second touchdown of the quarter, giving the Spartans a 17–7 lead entering the fourth. That’s when the lights got too bright.
4th Quarter
Michigan State’s defense had been fantastic all game, keeping the team afloat until the offense finally woke up. But like we’ve seen all year, as soon as the offense shows signs of life, the defense is too gassed to close it out.
Iowa immediately turned up the pressure.
Early in the quarter, the Hawkeyes drilled a field goal to make it a one-score game. The teams traded possessions until Iowa, with just under four minutes left, drove into MSU territory. On 4th-and-11, the Spartans got the stop they desperately needed.
But the offense couldn’t return the favor. A quick three-and-out gave Iowa the ball back.
With 90 seconds left, Iowa snapped the ball from MSU’s four-yard line and threw a fade to Jacob Gill for the game-tying touchdown. The Spartans got the ball back, and with 47 seconds left on 3rd-and-2, Milivojevic’s pass fell incomplete — the receiver dragged down with no call, fitting the season-long theme.
MSU punted.
With 30 seconds remaining, Iowa made a couple of dagger-level catches to move into Spartan territory. As the clock expired, the Hawkeyes drilled the game-winning field goal, stabbing the Spartans in the chest and sending them back to East Lansing on an eight-game losing streak.
What’s Next
The Spartans head home before prepping for their season finale against Maryland at Ford Field next week. Michigan State will try to end the year on a high note — and avoid becoming the first MSU team ever to lose nine conference games in a single season.