Iowa Football: Key Matchups When the Hawks Play Michigan State

The Hawkeyes come into the Nov. 12 showdown against Michigan State with some momentum behind them.

Last week, they beat the winningest program in the history of college football for the third time in a row. The defense showed up for arguably the first time this season.

The offense may not have been superb, but it was efficient and did what it had to do. Moreover, it has a successful and bruising running game.

Even more impressive and shocking, Kirk Ferentz bucked trends and threw tons of blitzes at UM. He even went for it on fourth down. Twice. Once from 4th-and-8.

At this point, winning out seems unlikely, but Iowa is in the driver's seat for the Western Division of the Big Ten.

Meanwhile, Michigan State was one of the hottest teams in the country two weeks ago. They looked to be on the verge of finishing up a scintillating October. They had beaten Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks.

However, a road trip to Nebraska ended their undefeated conference hopes. Complicating the matter, they barely eked by a terrible Minnesota team. At home, no less.

Of course, as regards Minnesota, at least they won.

Now, Mark Dantonio brings his Spartans into Iowa City. Rumor has it—rumor that I cannot substantiate in any way—that Dantonio engaged in a great deal of negative recruiting against Iowa during this past off-season. This leaves one to wonder if there is some bad blood between these two programs.

If the Hawks win, they assure themselves of a bowl berth and remain in the driver's seat for the Big Ten West race.

But the Spartans have their own ideas about playing in Indianapolis on Dec. 3. However, they'll have to get through the Hawkeyes to get an invitation.

The Iowa Defense vs. the Blitz

In last week's game against Michigan, Iowa threw more blitzes at UM than I have ever seen Kirk Ferentz/Norm Parker throw at anybody. Ever.

They blitzed cornerbacks, linebackers from every angle and strong safety Jordan Bernstine blitzed like he was confusing his black and gold for a Pittsburgh Steeler uniform.

The question is, did it work?

On Denard Robinson's fumble, Tyler Nielsen blitzed. On Christian Kirksey's interception, both James Morris and Bernstine were coming. Tanner Miller blitzed on the play where Denard Robinson was injured. On the final stand at the Iowa 3-yard line, Bernstine and Nielsen blitzed on all four downs.

In short, yes, it worked.

The reality is this year's front four cannot generate pressure without help. This will be especially true with weak-side defensive end Dominic Alvis done for the year with a torn ACL.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins is not good under pressure. If Iowa does not blitz him and allows him to sit in the pocket, he will tear them up.

Iowa will need its front four to squash the run. This should not be as difficult as it might seem, as Michigan State does not have a strong rushing team this season. They are last in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 3.71 YPC, and that is with experienced running backs.

Once the Hawks stop the run on early downs and force MSU into passing situations, they have to send the dogs and Iowa's corners simply have to play on an island against the Spartan receivers. 

Micah Hyde and Shaun Prater vs. B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin

Speaking of which, Iowa's corners will need to have a strong day against MSU's top wide receivers—B.J. Cunningham and Keshawn Martin.

Again, this is assuming the Hawks do bring heat, and the corners are left on an island.

All things considered, they had a pretty strong showing last week in a similar situation. On the other hand, Denard Robinson overthrew multiple open wide receivers that were running deep routes.

As I said, Cousins is not good under pressure, and unlike Robinson, if a pass rusher has a straight shot to Cousins, then the Michigan State quarterback is a sitting duck. However, Cousins is more accurate than Robinson, and if he has enough time and his receiver gets a step on the coverage, Cousins won't miss him.

Also, as Kirk Ferentz/Norm Parker are unlikely to bring in nickel and dime packages, Iowa's linebackers and safeties will have to cover third wide receiver Keith Nichols, tight ends Dion Sims and Brian Linthicum, as well as MSU's running backs who are very good receivers.

In the end, these underneath pass catchers might be the bigger issue than the Prater/Hyde vs. Cunningham/Martin matchups.

Iowa vs. Finishing Tackles

Of course, it will start with cleaning up against the run and forcing the Spartans into passing downs.

Part of that will come down to finishing tackles, which is something Iowa's linebackers and linemen have had issues with this year.

The Hawks had their best defensive performance this season against the Wolverines. The line funneled the ball carrier to the linebackers and the back seven gang-tackled and, for the most part, finished plays before they became catastrophes.

Part of the reason for that was because strong safety Jordan Bernstine spent a large portion of the game in the box, which is almost unheard of in Kirk Ferentz's/Norm Parker's defense. Bernstine wound up finishing the day with 15 tackles.

One key difference with MSU is that unlike Denard Robinson, Kirk Cousins is not a running threat. In fact, he may be the weakest running threat of all quarterbacks in the Big Ten.

In effect, one has to wonder if Ferentz/Parker will be as aggressive with their strong safety.

Whether they are or aren't, the Hawks have to continue to gang tackle. Even though Cousins isn't a threat to run, Michigan State has three quality running backs in Le'Veon Bell, Edwin Baker and Larry Caper. If the Hawkeyes try to arm tackle any one of them, he will break free and a two-yard gain will become a 10-yard gain.

Also, Baker has had fumble issues lately. The Hawks have to look for the strip.

JVB vs. the Blitz

James Vandenberg's biggest issue this season has been recognizing, reading and reacting to the blitz.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio is likely to load up the box and force Iowa and James Vandenberg to beat his defense through the air.

Moreover, when JVB drops back to pass, Dantonio will throw everything he has at the junior signal caller.

How he reacts will ultimately determine how successful he and Iowa are.

Big plays will be there, but JVB—as well as the receivers, offensive line and play calling—will have to be unbelievably sharp.

Iowa could finish the game with 400 yards through the air or having given up eight sacks. Or both.

Marvin McNutt vs. Johnny Adams

This is the toughest matchup McNutt will have all year. In fact, this is the first cornerback Iowa will face that is really capable of covering McNutt. Penn State's D'Anton Lynn would have been in that category, but he missed the Iowa game with an injury.

In effect, McNutt should look to put on a show, as this is the game that scouts will pay particular attention to.

Given how much MSU likes to blitz and put its corners on islands, this matchup will be huge.

McNutt can't drop the routine passes, and he can't walk off routes. He needs to run clean patterns and make plays after the catch.

He needs to play no less than the game of his season and career.

JVB vs. Trent Robinson and Isaiah Lewis

Michigan State's safeties are tied for the Big Ten lead in interceptions, with four picks each.

They are reminiscent of Tyler Sash and Brett Greenwood, who totaled 23 interceptions in their three seasons as Iowa's starting safeties.

Vandenberg has had a problem staring down receivers. Robinson and Lewis will eat him alive if he does that. He has to look them off on throws over the middle.

Along with PSU's safeties, this is the best safety tandem Iowa will face all season.

Needless to say, the Hawkeye offense didn't do particularly well against the Nits. Vandenberg had, by far, his worst outing of the season. He had a season low efficiency rating of 80.00, when his second lowest individual game rating was 142.37 against Minnesota.

There were also a slew of dropped passes, as well as five sacks allowed.

However, that game was away. This one is at home, and hopefully, the offense has grown since then.

In short, JVB and his receivers need to have their best game of the season in order to beat MSU.

C.J. Fiedorowicz vs. Michigan State's Linebackers

Iowa tight end play this season has been about as poor as I can remember it being under Kirk Ferentz.

Due to the lackluster play of the upperclassmen, sophomore super-recruit C.J. Fiedorowicz has moved into the full-time starting position.

Against Michigan, his blocking was notably better than it has been at any previous time, though it was still inconsistent. He also had a key reception that drove the Hawks to the Michigan 1-yard-line. They later scored their second touchdown of the day.

Due to the abilities of the Spartan secondary, as well as the MSU pass rush, Vandenberg will need to get the ball out in a hurry.

The key to that might be C.J. Fed. Moreover, at 6'7", Fiedorowicz is a decided mismatch against any linebackers.

If all goes well, look for the Polish Hat to have the best game of his career thus far.

Jerel Worthy vs. Interior of Iowa's Offensive Line

The interior of Iowa's offensive line has been inconsistent. Last week redshirt freshman Brandon Scherff got his first start at left guard. However, former starter Matt Tobin got a good deal of playing time and played the entire fourth quarter for right guard Adam Gettis, though I have no idea why Gettis came off.

Although Tobin had his best game of the season in spot play, Scherff and center James Ferentz struggled tremendously with Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin. Martin was the third-best defensive tackle Iowa will see all year, though he may have been the fastest.

The second-best defensive tackle was Penn State's Devon Still, who ate the Hawks' line up. He wound up with six tackles, 1.5 TFL and a sack, though the stats don't tell the tale of how disruptive he was.

Michigan State's Jerel Worthy is the best defensive tackle Iowa will face. He is currently Walterfootball.com's top-rated DT in this year's draft. Though pro potential is not an accurate measure of collegiate productivity, Worthy is worth every bit of the hype.

The Hawkeyes will not be able to negate him. They will have to minimize him with double-teams and outside stretch plays.

Brad Rogers vs. Michigan State's Linebackers

Marcus Coker's stats through the first five games: 454 YDS, 105 ATT, 4.32 YPC, 4 TDs.

Marcus Coker's stats through the last four games: 647 YDS, 106 ATT, 6.10 YPC, 8 TDs.

Brad Rogers, who had missed the previous nine months with heart issues, took over full-time starting fullback duties in the sixth game of the season (he played only sparingly in the fifth game).

Is it a coincidence that Coker's production rose dramatically with the return of Rogers?

In truth, yes, there were other issues that had to do with Coker's reemergence. Specifically, Coker was rusty at the beginning of the season, as he dealt with his own health issues during camp.

However, Rogers' return cannot be discounted. His blocking has had a good deal to do with the upswing in the Iowa rushing game.

He will be key to Coker's success against MSU. Moreover, I'd like to see the Hawks get the ball in his hands on occasion; a fullback who does more than block will add a degree of versatility that Iowa hasn't seen since Jeremy Allen graduated.

Iowa vs. Special Teams

When one looks back at the Spartans' win over Wisconsin, the one element of the game that jumps out is the MSU special teams play: one blocked punt, one blocked kick and a punt downed inside the five that led directly to a safety.

Dantonio has made special teams a focus much like Iowa did early in Ferentz's tenure. It is and has been a real strength for him.

The same cannot be said for Iowa lately.

The Hawks have to play disciplined football in this area. They cannot allow MSU to beat them with special teams.

Keys to an Iowa Win

1. Finish tackles and gang tackle.

This will be key in stopping the Michigan State running attack. If the Hawks don't stop the MSU running attack, they will not stop the MSU offense.

2. Stop the run and force MSU into 3rd-and-longs.

Then the coaches have to continue the aggressiveness they showed against Michigan and hit the Spartans with the blitz.

3. JVB and his receivers have to play their best game of the season.

This is one of the two best defenses they will face all season. The line will have to open holes for Coker, but they won't wear this D-line down, as Michigan State rotates a lot. Coker will have to do enough to keep the D honest, but the game will be won or lost by JVB.

4. Do not let MSU win on special teams.

The Hawks cannot let the Spartans break their back the way they broke Wisconsin's back.

5. Keep the crowd in it.

Kinnick has to be the 12th man. The Hawks need the fans in this game. Go Hawks!