EAST LANSING- MSU football suffered its seventh consecutive loss against Penn State last Saturday and remains winless in conference play.
With two games left in the season, the Spartans are grasping at straws to secure their first victory since week three against Youngstown State.
Against PSU, redshirt freshman quarterback Alessio Milivojevic went 17-27 with 128 passing yards.
The only Spartan touchdown scored on the night came from the first snap of MSU’s opening drive, with a 57-yard breakaway rush by senior running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver.
Despite multiple crucial stops from the Spartan defense, MSU’s lack of offensive efficiency led to its downfall.
Wrapping up its season at Spartan Stadium against PSU, the Green and White will head on the road to face the Iowa Hawkeyes, who rank sixth in the Big Ten at 6-4 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
The Hawkeyes are coming off back-to-back losses against No. 15 USC and No. 7 Oregon.
Against USC, Iowa was outscored 19-0 following a 21-7 lead in the second half, and the Trojans completed the comeback 26-21.
Iowa senior quarterback Mark Gronowski went 12-19 with 132 passing yards, one interception and a 5-yard receiving touchdown from sophomore wide receiver Reece Vander Zee.
Sophomore running back Kamari Moulton finished with 15 carries for 90 yards, averaging six yards per carry against the Trojans.
With the absence of junior quarterback Aidan Chiles, the Spartans have relied heavily on their run game, which has been led by Tau-Tolliver as of late.
The senior finished with 79 yards on six carries and averaged 13.2 yards per carry against the Nittany Lions.
MSU sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh saw only two catches for five yards against Penn State. The Spartan offensive line has struggled to protect Milivojevic in the pocket, allowing a combined 12 sacks over the past two games.
Against USC, the Hawkeyes’ defense sacked Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava twice and finished with 51 total tackles on the night.
The Green and White will most likely look to Tau-Tolliver to lead its run game once again, with the occasional switch off to sophomore running backs Makhi Frazier and Brandon Tullis.
The Spartan offense will need to create ways for Marsh and their receiving corps to get open, and the offensive line must protect Milivojevic in the pocket and give him more time to throw.
Scouting Iowa
Gronowski leads the Hawkeyes in passing yards with 1,216 with six touchdowns and five interceptions. Gronowski has a QBR of 58.4 which ranks 70th in the NCAA.
Ranking second on the team in rushing yards with 370 on 90 carries, Gronowski has 13 rushing touchdowns on the season, acting as a run-heavy quarterback for the Hawkeyes offense.
Moulton leads the team in rushing yards with 612 on 120 carries with two touchdowns on the season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Senior wide receiver Jacob Gill has 237 yards on 18 receptions, averaging 13.2 yards per catch.
Gill has yet to see his first touchdown this season, along with senior wide receiver Sam Phillips, who has 216 yards on 13 receptions, averaging 16.6 yards per catch.
Sophomore defensive back Zach Lutmer has a team high of two interceptions with 57 tackles and 34 solo tackles.
Senior linebacker Karson Sharar leads the Hawkeyes in tackles with 63, along with 28 solo tackles and a sack.
The Iowa defense has forced 19 sacks on the season, led by senior defensive lineman Max Llewellyn, who has six sacks for 35 yards, and senior defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett with five sacks and a team high of 44 sack yards.
MSU will look to snap its losing streak in Iowa City, Iowa as it faces the Iowa Hawkeyes this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tune into the live broadcast featuring Jacob Maurer and Kyle Keegan locally on 88.9 FM or at https://impact89fm.org/.
