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    • Michigan State football achieves Jonathan Smith's ideal by defeating Iowa
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    Michigan State football achieves Jonathan Smith's ideal by defeating Iowa

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    EAST LANSING – As Aidan Chiles heard a reporter read his stats from Michigan State football's 32-20 conquest of Iowa, a slight smile spread across the sophomore quarterback's face.

    “That sounds nice,” he said late Saturday evening.

    When another member of the media reminded him of the synergy he had with wideouts Nick Marsh and Montorie Foster Jr. after each eclipsed 100 receiving yards, Chiles cooed, “That's beautiful, man.”

    The Chileans couldn't help but enjoy what seemed like the perfect night for the Spartans as nearly everything head coach Jonathan Smith had envisioned for his young program began to come to fruition right before his eyes. It was all so sudden and unexpected considering MSU was on a clean slate with three straight losses last month. But at the team's farewell last week, a switch seemed to have been flipped, and out came the Spartans, reinvigorated, roaring and ready to go.

    MSU grades: The Spartans are learning how to finish on offense

    Over the next three and a half hours, they ambushed the Hawkeyes and exceeded all expectations. A suspicious blockade front directed at Oregon and Ohio State opened gaping holes for Nate Carter and Kay'ron Lynch-Adams. The two running backs rushed through them while also leading a ground attack that averaged 5.3 yards per carry. All the while, they supported Chiles, the team's celebrated freshman starter, who had been in slump since Saturday. Turnovers had become his bugbear, with 11 in his first six games at MSU. For this reason, many outsiders believed that facing Iowa's ball-guzzling zone-quarter defense would spell disaster. But it quickly became clear that the gloomy forecasts were unfounded. Chiles appeared calm and composed in the pocket, going through his progressions and placing precise throws in tight windows.

    He fended off an early interception and orchestrated MSU's most comprehensive offensive performance of the season. For most of the game, Smith said, Chiles was “lights out.” It seemed like a fair assessment.

    The Spartans scored points on eight of their 11 drives and reached the end zone twice, and Jonathan Kim hit a school-record six field goals. The execution was consistent and relentless. MSU just kept going with vigor and vigor.

    The Spartans got beyond the Iowa 38-yard line on 10 different possessions, finding the balance that had previously eluded them. Chiles completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 256 yards and threw a beautiful 18-yard strike to Foster in the third quarter that snuffed out the Hawkeyes' first of several comeback attempts. He also made some key contributions to MSU's ground game, which racked up 212 yards, and helped MSU nearly double Iowa in possessions.

    That ratio was perhaps the most telling statistic, showing that here, on the 329th day of Smith's tenure, the Spartans had finally begun to play the style of complementary football he wanted when he took the job.

    The offense dictated the terms. The defense dominated the point of attack. The Spartans cut off the main valve of Iowa's no-frills offense and swarmed Kaleb Johnson, the second-leading rusher in the country. It was as impressive as it was shocking, considering the Buckeyes and Ducks had recently stormed through MSU's front in a disappointing seven-day window from late September to early October. Until he scored a 75-yard run on his final drive, Johnson was thwarted at every turn, while he gained just 23 yards on his previous 13 carries.

    “We knew they were going to run the ball,” safety Nikai Martinez said. “There would be a bloodbath. Who would emerge victorious?”

    BIG TEN INSIDERS: Michigan State football has the momentum it needs before facing Michigan

    These were the Spartans, harassing the Hawkeyes like a boa constrictor in a first half in which they scored zero points in just 19 plays.

    Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara struggled to sustain Iowa's offense in his first appearance at Spartan Stadium since throwing the fateful interception that sealed the Wolverines' epic 2021 loss to MSU. Aside from a brief flurry in the second half, he didn't play much of a role as he only completed 47.8% of his attempts for 150 yards.

    “We played good team defense,” Smith said. “When you look at these numbers and what we were able to achieve, I think it speaks a lot about the acceptance and the culture that is led here by the players.”

    As Smith's audience digested what they had just seen, it was hard not to think that MSU had made a major breakthrough. After all, this was the first time that Smith's winning design was fully transferred from the drawing board to the field, where it was seen in living color.

    From the balance on offense to the physicality on defense to the top-notch execution in all three phases, the Spartans resembled Smith's best teams at Oregon State for the first time. In fact, it finally seemed as if they had been molded in the image of Smith, their solid, consistent and stable leader. The timing couldn't have been better as next up is Michigan, their shaky rival that has suffered two straight losses.

    “The game definitely has momentum,” Foster said.

    It was created during a three-and-a-half hour block on Saturday night as the Spartans put on a visual feast.

    “It looked great tonight,” Foster crowed.

    Few would have expected MSU to put on such an attractive football display against Iowa, a program known for screwing up.

    But after their victory, there were still the Spartans who admired it as if it were a work of art.

    “When the energy is there and everyone is on the same page,” Chiles said, “it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”

    As MSU fans would agree, it was a sight to behold.

    Now they just want to see it again…and again…and again.

    Contact Rainer Sabin at [email protected]. Follow him @RainerSabin.

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    Kathleen William
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