Iowa pounded the Spartans into submission last Saturday, yet I didn’t see a need to recite the obvious on Sunday morning, but a couple of days have passed, and with the benefit of retrospection, the magnitude of that 49-7 loss is even greater than first imagined.
The Spartans went to Iowa with the knowledge they were playing a winless team which was reeling due to an onslaught of off field problems. Iowa was 0-2 and seemingly ripe for picking, but that’s not how it played out.
After the opening Kickoff and Touchback, Iowa took possession at their 25 Yard Line and they were ready to make a statement.
Iowa put together an 8 play, 75 yard scoring drive in 3 min & 59 sec to score their first Touchdown at 11:07 of the 1st Qtr. It was essentially an exercise of watching road graders excavate the landscape. Nothing stood in their way.
In all, Iowa scored 3, 1st Half Touchdowns and those 3 scoring drives took a grand total of just 10 min & 50 seconds. Iowa cut through the Spartan Defense like a hot knife cuts through butter.
Yet, to add insult to injury, with just 1:57 remaining in the 1st Half, Iowa would score two more Touchdowns.
After all, the Spartans had been flirting with disaster from the opening Kickoff given that after 7 possessions and 28 minutes of football, the Spartans had only managed to compile 106 yards of Total Offense, threw two Interceptions, missed a FG and fell behind 21-0.
Iowa was clearly exerting their will at the Line of Scrimmage and winning the battle of Field Position, and here is how the next 27 seconds played out:
Iowa punted 61 Yards from their 29 to the Spartans 10. After three plays, the Spartans netted minus two yards (-2) and the football rested at the Spartans 8 Yard Line. With their proverbial back to the wall, the Spartans were forced to punt and Iowa received the Punt at their 46 and things went horribly wrong.
Like a heat seeking missile, Iowa returned the punt 54 Yards for a Touchdown and kicked the PAT and just like that, the score was 28-0
The Spartans were staggering.
If the Spartans were hoping to simply go into the Locker Room at Half Time and regroup before Iowa could put any more points onto the scoreboard, that wouldn’t happen.
Iowa Kicked Off and it was whistled a Touchback.
The Spartans took possession at their 25, and after 2 plays and 11 Yards, Lombardi dropped back and threw a pass, unfortunately the pass seemed as though it was targeted for Iowa: the pass was intercepted at Iowa 46 Yard Line and like a laser, it was returned 54 Yards for a Touchdown. Iowa kicked a PAT and the score was Iowa 35…Spartans 0.
Iowa scored 2 Touchdowns in 27 seconds, yet there was still 1 min and 30 seconds remaining on the game clock. What else could go wrong?
At that point thousands of Spartan partisans across the country collectively turned off their TV’s and went grocery shopping.
The Half Time score was 35-0 and the script was clear: the Spartans were unprepared to play football.
Nevertheless, with a tiny audience of fans still watching, the Spartans commenced the 2nd Half with a 12 play/75 Yard Scoring Drive.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was a scoring drive nevertheless. The Spartans averted an apparent Lombardi fumble which Iowa apparently returned for a Touchdown, but the fumble was ruled “Intentional Grounding” instead, and that enabled the Spartans to regroup and score, highlighted by a 57 Yard Pass to Jalen Nailor.
But things were about to go horribly wrong “again” inasmuch as Iowa was about to expose more foundational problems in the Spartans 4-2-5 Defensive scheme
After an ensuing Kickoff and Touchback, Iowa took possession of the football at their 25 Yard Line. Iowa seemed content to bleed the clock, chalk up a “W” and get ready for their next game.
So, from their 25 Yard Line, Iowa dialed up a seemingly innocuous Running Play, yet with just two Spartan Linebackers deployed in the Spartans 4-2-5 Defense, the sea split and a running play that was designed to gain 4 or 5 yards, turned into a 71 yard jaunt all the way from Iowa 25, to the Spartans 4 Yard Line. Two plays later Iowa scored another Touchdown and the score was Iowa 42…Spartans 7.
Let’s be honest, inside running plays are deigned to get 4 or 5 yards and move the chains, but they are not designed to romp for 71 Yards, yet it did…
So, the question of the day is, why weren’t the Spartans prepared?
It would be one thing to play at Iowa and come up short 27-24…or 21-17…or 17-10, but to get pounded into submission 49-7 and watch haplessly as Iowa totally controlled the Line of Scrimmage, it makes you wonder “what in the world was going on in the week leading up to the game?”.
Who are the Spartans?
I asked prior to the Iowa game, who are the Spartans?
Well, that got answered a couple of different ways last Saturday.
Of course the humiliating loss to Rutgers speaks for itself.
Yet, the victory vs Michigan that everyone joyously celebrated has lost virtually all of its luster inasmuch as Michigan has been exposed as a Championship pretender.
Michigan got dismantled at Indiana last Saturday, as Indiana drug Michigan all over the ol’ ballpark on their way to a 38-21 victory. But it wasn’t that close.
Indiana yielded just 13 Yards Rushing to Michigan or a meager 0.7 Yards per attempt, and Michigan is now 1-2 while their only victory came at the hands of Minnesota which also owns a dismal record of 1-2, and if we are connecting the dots, Minnesota’s only victory came against winless Illinois.
So, the Spartans beat Michigan, and while every Spartan on the planet rejoices with a victory over Michigan, nevertheless Michigan has been exposed as a nothing more than a “Championship pretender”, and that takes all the luster off that victory.
Now, the road gets harder, and we have to wonder if there is a single victory on the Spartans remaining schedule?
Let’s take a look at the 5 remaining games on the Spartans schedule:
- Are the Spartans capable of beating Indiana which enjoys a perfect 3-0 record, including victories over Penn State, Rutgers and Michigan?
- Are the Spartans capable of beating Maryland which has a record of 2-1 including victories vs Minnesota and Penn State?
- Are the Spartans capable of beating Northwestern which has a perfect record of 3-0 including victories vs Maryland, Iowa and Nebraska?
- Capable of beating Ohio State which has a record of 3-0 with victories vs Nebraska, Penn State and Rutgers?
- Or, is it likely the Spartans can beat Penn State which has a winless record of 0-3?
Of the 5 remaining games, 3 opponents have perfect 3-0 records.
So, on paper, it appears the “best chance” for a victory is December 12 when the Spartans travel to State College to play winless Penn State, but not so fast. It’s never easy to play at State College especially when the weather turns foul, and especially when the Spartans are incapable of running the football.
After all, the Spartans Rushing Offense ranks #119 in the country when measured against 127 D-1 Schools, by way of averaging just 78 Yards per game.
And to put that into perspective, from historic data I have been able to gather, this is the Spartans worst rushing average since 1950, so it’s no surprise the Spartans rank dead last the Big Ten in Rushing Offense.
So, we don’t have to be experienced odds makers to make a prediction that the Spartans will be “hard pressed” to win another game!
Coaching staff gets the benefit of the doubt, but patience is wearing thin:
No one expected the Spartans to run the table and go to the Big Ten Championship Game led by a first year coaching staff, but stakeholders rightfully expected a record of 4-4 at the minimum, yet those hopes are fading faster than a fall sunset.
Of course, the current coaching staff didn’t inherit a Championship team, but they did inherit a roster of good athletes and a solid foundation, measurably better than the program Mark Dantonio inherited.
Let’s remember, Mark Dantonio inherited a “train wreck” and yet he won his first 4 games including victories vs Pitt and Notre Dame on the way to posting a 7-5 regular season record and earned a Bowl invitation in year one.
But 2020 is already careening off the rails. Rutgers humiliated the Spartans at Spartan Stadium, and Iowa pounded the Spartans into submission at Iowa City, and the stats underscore dim prospects for another victory.
When measured against 127 D-1 Schools, the 2020 Spartans rank in the bottom 30th percentile in 5 fundamental categories, and that places them amongst the worst in the country..
- Turnover Margin #121
- Rushing Offense #119
- Scoring Offense #106
- Scoring Defense #97
- Total Offense #90
At the bottom line (if you can’t run with the football, you can’t win)
After 3 football games, the Spartans are averaging a miserable 78 Yards Rushing per game and rank #119 in the country.
But when you “peel back the onion”, the problem is even worse. The Spartans compiled just 50 Yards Rushing vs Rutgers, and just 59 Yards Rushing vs Iowa, and that’s an average of just 55 Yards Rushing in two games at just 1.5 Yards per attempt.
Let’s be honest, it’s virtually impossible to beat any opponent with such a feeble Rushing Offense, and as a subtle reminder, Mark Dantonio’s career was compromised in the last 5 years, due in great part to an ineffective Rushing Offense.
In the last 5 years, Dantonio’s Rushing Offense went from Elite to foundering.
The Spartans Rushing Offense that once ranked a formidable #19 in 2014 averaging a robust 235 Yards per game…precipitously dropped to #65 in 2016…#114 in 2018…#113 in 2019 and now the Spartans Rushing Offense ranks #119, averaging less than 80 Yards per game.
That means the Spartans Rushing Offense has fallen 100 places; from #19 in 2014, to #119 in 2020: that’s a decline of more than 150 Yards per game.
Where’s the improvement we were promised?
The coaching staff is getting paid Top 15 compensation, and while we give them the benefit of the doubt, we have yet to see any progress and they need to get busy.
And that brings us to Indiana.
Indiana visits Spartan Stadium on Saturday and it’s hard to be optimistic. Since 2017, Tom Allen has been quietly building Indiana into a formidable football force.
In 2018, Indiana finished with a record of 5-7, then last year they improved to 8-5, and currently have a record of 3-0 and installed as a 7 point favorite vs the Spartans.
I bet you can’t remember the last time Indiana was favored to beat the Spartans.
The coaching staff need to reset the compass…because Spartan stakeholders across the land are waiting and watching for the Spartans to become the Championship contenders we were promised!
Thank you for reading and I welcome your comments and opinions.
