Hawkeye Recap: MSU Recap

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Hawkeye Recap: MSU Recap - DRAFT

10/13/2002 by Jon Miller of Hawkeye Nation

The Iowa Hawkeye football program has been through it all this year. They have given up large leads and lost a game. They have given up large leads and won games. They have won games on the final offensive drive of the game. They have scored off of special teams and defense. But against Michigan State, they put their foot on the throat of the Spartans and they never let up, as they cruised to a 44-16 victory that could have been 60-16. And the Hawkeyes also finished what they started, ending Charlie Rogers’ NCAA record streak of 13 consecutive games with a touchdown at 13 in a row. The streak began against Iowa last year in East Lansing. Iowa’s pass defense, which had been much maligned coming into this game, allowed just 194 yards passing on 46 attempts and the Iowa defenders not only harassed every MSU quarterback who was called in to the game, the secondary may have just had their ‘statement’ game for the season. The Hawkeyes beat Sparty to a pulp on the day and totally erased one of the most dangerous players in the nation. As Hawkeyenation.com told you in its weekly preview, we didn’t feel that MSU QB Jeff Smoker would be patient enough to take advantage of what the Iowa defense would give him, with regards to the underneath routs. Smoker didn’t disappoint, as he 17 of 33 with three interceptions and he was benched during the game. Smoker and the Spartans look to Rogers far too much and Iowa made sure to get a lick in on the all-American receiver each and every play. Rogers ended up catching five passes for 78 yards, including a long of 31 yards that was a junk play. The Hawkeye secondary stepped it up another notch and Bob Sanders added to his legend with more bone crushing hits. The Hawkeyes fell behind 7-0 after Michigan State punched it in from short range following three pass interference calls against the Hawkeyes, two coming on third down. But after that, it was all Hawkeyes as Iowa would score 44 unanswered points. The Hawkeyes answered back right away as Jermelle Lewis returned the ensuing kick 94-yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Iowa took a 10-7 lead on a Nate Kaeding 36-yard field goal into a stiff wind estimated at 20 to 25 miles per hour. 10 seconds later, Iowa free safety Derek Pagel intercepted a Smoker pass and returned it 62-yards for the score and Iowa led 17-7. Iowa quarterback Brad Banks didn’t have one of his best days passing the football from a statistical angle, but his work on the ground kept the Spartans off balance that would prove deadly as the game wore on. Banks kept things in the family, hooking up twice with cousin CJ Jones for long scoring passes. One play came in the first half when Banks hit Jones for a 62-yard post play in the first half and the second scoring strike came on a beautiful play where Banks threw the ball high and Jones came down with an amazing grab for a 25-yard touchdown. The Hawkeyes dominated this game without ever really flexing their muscles, as they gained just 284 yards but scored 44 points. Michigan State gained 249 yards but they were plagued by five turnovers. The unflappable Iowa rush defense held the Spartans to just 55 yards on 33 carries, an average of 1.6 yards per rush. Iowa’s special teams were spectacular, allowing a total of –4 yards on four punt returns and just 10 yards per kickoff return. NOTES Last week, I was critical of Matt Roth’s decision to hit Kyle Orton after the whistle had blown, which resulted in a 15-yard personal foul. I will admit to making more out of that play than should have been, as Iowa’s coaches didn’t feel it was too much of a mental breakdown, rather, it was a player giving his all and going all out. The coaches know far better than I do. This week, Matt Roth turned in a HUGE performance. He employed a swim technique early and often and he was in the MSU backfield as much as the Spartan running backs Roth had five tackles, which isn’t a big deal. But four of them were for loss, one of them forced a fumble and he had three sacks. Those numbers are not misprints. That is an UNREAL performance and worthy of note. Hats off to Roth for accepting the position switch. But in the end, Roth will be the one who will likely benefit from an NFL career at defensive end. His performance today was nothing short of spectacular. Media Notes from Iowa Sports Information The last time Iowa began the season 6-1 was 1991 and the last time Iowa started 3-0 in conference play was 1996…Iowa has scored 30 points or more in six of its seven games this year. Iowa’s lowest point total this year was 29 points at Miami, OH (9/7/02). Iowa’s defense held Michigan State’s WR Charles Rogers without a touchdown for the first time in 14 games. Rogers’ 13-game touchdown streak began when he caught one score vs. Iowa last year in East Lansing (10/13/01). Iowa has now won five of its last seven games against Michigan State, including the last three in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa won the coin toss and started the game on offense. The Hawkeyes have started on offense in 35 of their last 36 contests. Today marked the first time Iowa yielded an opening drive touchdown by its opponent. Iowa went three and out on its opening possession for the first time this year. It also is the first time the Hawkeyes were not the first team to score in the game. Jermelle Lewis returned the seventh-longest kickoff return in school history when he scampered 94 yards for the score in the first quarter. It marked Iowa’s first kickoff return for a touchdown (other than blocked punts) since Kahlil Hill returned a kickoff 90 yards vs. Michigan State (10/7/00). DB Bob Sanders intercepted a pass for the second straight week. Sanders has two interceptions this year. DB Derek Pagel intercepted his third pass of the year and returned the ball 62 yards for a touchdown. It marks the seventh-longest interception return for a score in school history and is the first interception return for a touchdown since DB Chris Smith returned an interception 33 yards vs. Miami, OH (9/8/01). RB Fred Russell finished the game with 18 carries for 75 yards. He also ran for his sixth touchdown of the year when he scored on a nine-yard run. Russell did not see any action in the fourth quarter. Except scoring on a punt return, Iowa has scored points every way possible this year. Today marked the third time this year that Iowa has scored at least 17 points in the first quarter. The other two games were Akron (37) and Penn State (17). PK Nate Kaeding connected on field goals of 28, 36 and 43 yards to extend his consecutive field goal streak to 17 overall and 14 this year. He also converted on all five PAT attempts. Kaeding’s 14 points brings his career total to 221 and moves him past Sedrick Shaw (214), Jeff Skillett (214), Zach Bromert (218) and Tavian Banks (218) into third place on Iowa’s career scoring chart. Kaeding’s 14 points today was one shy of his school record for kicking points in a single game. Kaeding scored 15 points vs. Kent State last year (9/1/01). QB Brad Banks connected with WR C.J. Jones for a 62-yard touchdown reception. Banks has now thrown five touchdowns of 50 yards or more to three different receivers this year (Maurice Brown - 50, 54 and 56 and Dallas Clark – 95). Banks finished the game with two touchdown completions. Banks has now thrown two touchdowns or more in five of Iowa’s seven contests. Banks completed 8-19 passes for 154 yards. Banks now ranks 13th in career passing yards at Iowa with 1,967 yards. Iowa has led at the half in six of its seven games this year. Iowa turned five MSU turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) into 20 points (two touchdowns and three field goals). The last time Iowa forced five turnovers was vs. Michigan (10/3/98). Iowa forced two interceptions and three fumbles. This year, Iowa forced three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) at Penn State (9/28/02) and also forced three turnovers in the opening game vs. Akron. WR C.J. Jones caught two touchdown passes for the second time this year. Jones caught passes for 62 and 25 yards for scores. He also had two scoring receptions in Iowa’s win at Penn State. After trailing 7-0, Iowa scored 44 unanswered points before MSU added a touchdown and safety in the fourth quarter. Today marks the first time Iowa did not have a 100-yard rusher in 10 games. The last time the Hawkeyes did not have a 100-yard rusher was at Northwestern (11/10/01) when RB Ladell Betts led the Iowa rushing attack with 22 carries for 86 yards. Iowa’s defense did not allow a 100-yard rusher for the 10th straight game. Wisconsin’s Anthony Davis is the last player to rush for over 100 yards. Davis rushed for 142 yards on 36 carries (11/3/01). Iowa’s defense today came up with four QB sacks and 11 tackles for loss. DE Matt Roth collected three of the sacks and four of the tackles for loss, and he also had a forced fumble. MICHIGAN STATE AT IOWA COACHES QUOTES Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz: We gave a great effort today. I’m extremely proud of the coaches for giving us a good game plan. We came to play today. I think we figured out how to play in the second half. The first half was all big plays. We had a couple of near misses. Our guys are learning each and every week how to come out and play a full game. The defensive backs played with confidence and a good feel. They played determined and it looked like Iowa Football. The story of the game was our defense. We played hard, smart and more determined. The guys up front dug in and did a great job. I was very pleased to see how hard the defensive line played today. They were able to force some holding calls and put pressure on Michigan State. We aren’t going to do anything different to prepare for a road game. It’s a challenge, just like every other game. Playing on the road can be a negative if you let it be, but it can also be a positive. It’s just you and the team, which gives us great team unity.” MSU Coach Bobby Williams: I really thought these guys were ready to play. We started out doing well. Then Iowa really turned up the pressure and we didn’t respond. It was very, very hard to play over the number of turnovers we had. I thought the guys continued to fight and we were able to score in the fourth quarter. Iowa has a very good football team. Iowa is one of the best teams in the conference. They (Iowa) didn’t dominate us from a physical standpoint. We turned the ball over too many times. We had a lot of passes overthrown. These guys (Spartans) give you everything you ask for from a preparation standpoint.”

Hawkeye Nation was founded by Jon Miller, and later acquired by Rivals and Sports Illustrated. You can visit them at HawkeyeNation.com

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