EAST LANSING- The Spartans came into the Iowa matchup looking to elevate their play and switch up the style against a top-25 Iowa defense. 

The MSU running core started the game off strong, with junior Nate Carter and senior Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams with 11 and 8-yard run plays up the field quickly. 

Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles dished his first pass of the night to freshman receiver Nick Marsh, who hurried down the field for a 19-yard gain. 

Chiles kept the ball out of harm’s way and threw it out of bounds for a field goal by sixth-year kicker Jonathan Kim that helped the Spartans take the lead, 3-0. 

Kim set a school record in East Lansing on Saturday for six field goals in a game out of seven attempts on the night. 

“It’s an honor,” Kim said. “I’m just happy I’m able to go out and just help this team win. It’s an honor to go out and set that record.”

The Spartans came out on defense hungry and aggressive, putting pressure on Iowa senior quarterback Cade McNamara.

McNamara threw for 150 yards on 11-23 completions. He could not get anything going on the MSU high-pressure defense. 

McNamara was given no time in the pocket, where he was hurried by honorary captain sixth-year Khris Bogle who forced a three-and-out which gave the ball right back to the Spartans. 

MSU came right back out and stormed down the field, with Chiles who kicked the drive off with a big gain to senior receiver Montorie Foster Jr., who racked up 37 yards on a reception to the sideline. 

The Spartans tried to convert on a third down, but the Iowa defense held strong as, Kim would kick another field goal putting MSU up 6-0 in the first. 

Chiles played a clean game for the first 14 minutes of the first, but it did not last long as he threw a ball right up the middle that was intercepted by the sophomore defensive back Koen Entringer. 

Iowa received the ball shortly after and McNamara could not get anything going offensively, causing another three-and-out opportunity. 

In the first half of the game, the MSU defense did not give out any opportunities for large yardage gains. 

Junior linebacker Wayne Matthews III and redshirt defensive back Ed Woods provided big stops in the run and passing game, which forced a turnover on downs which kept their scoring at zero with 8:40 to go in the second quarter. 

“We expect that as a defense,” redshirt senior linebacker Jordan Turner said. “Our coach Joe Rossi always tells us we have to be the best response team ever. So when stuff doesn’t go our way, we have to respond on the next drive.”

MSU with 8:26 seconds on the clock had a chance to do something special and score on the successful Iowa team, but they couldn’t get it done in the red zone. 

MSU head coach Jonathan Smith and offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren drew up some dynamic plays for MSU on this drive, with redshirt freshman Aziah Johnson and Marsh both gaining 11 and 19 yards on big plays moving them into the red zone. 

The story of the first half was that MSU could not capitalize in the red zone, and they settled for a field goal once again getting close to the two-minute mark.

The MSU defense forced three three-and-outs on the night, which stopped Iowa’s momentum going into the break. 

MSU’s defense once again gave the Spartans one last chance before the end of the half, where MSU trotted down the field giving a chance for Jonathan Kim with a 55-yard field goal. 

With MSU’s last chance to score in the half, Kim’s field goal went wide left, and the Spartans closed the half up 12-0. 

McNamara and the Hawkeyes had to bounce back in the second half, and they converted on the opportunity with freshman receiver Reece Vander Zee who caught a deep ball high in the endzone for the first Iowa touchdown of the night. 

Iowa woke up in the third quarter and made it close at Spartan Stadium, with a 12-7 score to start. 

Iowa’s biggest offensive weapon all season has been their ground attack. However, on Saturday, the run game did not pay any dividends. Their lead running back junior Kaleb Johnson only had 31 rushing yards in the third quarter, which halted Iowa’s scoring chances.

Chiles needed to take his team down and create a cushion on offense, and he took the drive into his own hands getting the Spartans into the red zone. 

Chiles sensed the pressure and scrambled for a 26-yard gain which put MSU in scoring range, and the Spartans took advantage with a deep pass to Foster for an 18-yard touchdown score that put MSU up by 12. 

Chiles finished this game with 256 yards and one interception but bounced back after the interception and played a near-perfect game. 

“I thought he was lights out,” Smith said. “He recognized some coverage and did a great job of manipulating corners. He played, in my mind, his best complete game tonight.” 

Montorie Foster racked up 100 yards on the night right behind Nick Marsh with 113 yards, with the Spartan receiving core coming up huge in contributing to their offensive success. 

This was the first time two Spartans had 100 yards in a game since receivers Jalen Nailor and Jayden Reed. 

“We never flinched,” said Foster. “I think we have a high ceiling. We still haven’t hit our full potential, in my opinion, just being able to tighten up on certain plays. I can’t wait to see that happen.”

The Hawkeyes and the Spartans went back and forth with scoring in the fourth quarter, but Johnson on a one-play drive ran down for a 75-yard touchdown that put Iowa back in the game, 25-20. 

MSU showed they would not back down, with Lynch-Adams breaking many tackles, pushing forward for a 15-yard gain not wanting to go down. 

The Spartan run game has been asleep this season, but on Saturday the MSU rushing core ran for 214 yards on the night, an anchor point for the Spartans which resulted in the win.  

Chiles and company brought MSU within the goal line on his drive, where he handed it off to Carter after Marsh caught the ball at the one-yard line. 

Carter iced the game for Michigan State and put MSU up 32-20 before the two-minute warning. 

The Spartans came into this game being the underdogs with a 6.5-point spread but MSU racked up 470 total yards in the upset win against Iowa. 

The Spartans took down the Hawkeyes 32-20 in front of a win-desperate crowd at Spartan Stadium.  Next week MSU will head into Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines with momentum. 

Joe Dez and Oscar Henderson will be on the Impact 89 FM airwaves from the Big House with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.