Michigan State football grades vs Iowa: Final punt call still baffling

IOWA CITY, IA — Free Press sports writer Chris Solari grades Michigan State football on a scale of A to F after the Spartans’ 20-17 loss at Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 22.

Offense: C-minus

It was a sandwich game for Alessio Milivojevic and the offense. The Spartans punted on their first four drives of the game and a 14-play, 78-yard possession stalled in the red zone for a field goal in the second quarter. Running the ball was tough sledding, and Milivojevic continued to play through hit after hit – he was sacked twice but hit nine other times. But the redshirt freshman threw a pair of touchdowns to Chrishon McCray to give MSU the lead in the third quarter before everything evaporated in the final period – three straight three-and-out drives for 6 yards and a four-and-punt possession and failing to bleed out the clock. The Spartans finished with 335 yards but just 26 came on 13 fourth-quarter plays.

Defense: C-minus

Football is a complementary game, and the Spartans’ defense suffered in the fourth quarter as their offense vanished. After giving up 142 yards through three quarters – and forcing two turnovers in a game for the first time this season – MSU allowed 159 yards in the fourth while trying to protect a 17-7 lead. The secondary fell apart when the Hawkeyes’ Mark Gronowski started opening it up downfield in the final 2:37 – he threw for a 13-yard touchdown to finish a five-play, 42-yard drive following a long punt return, then hit three consecutive throws for 54 yards to set up the game-winning field goal in the final drive.

Special teams: F

The hidden yards were easy to spot, and they all belonged to Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen on senior day. The punt returner set the tone early with a 45-yard runback in the first quarter, then returned Ryan Eckley’s next punt 62 yards for a touchdown – the third punt return TD for the Hawkeyes in MSU’s last three trips to Kinnick Stadium. After Eckley’s ill-timed shank of an 11-yard punt trying to keep it away from Wetjen, the junior punter sent a 54-yarder to him with around a minute and a half to play and MSU up a touchdown. Wetjen once again evaded the Spartans’ coverage unit for a 40-yard return that set up Gronowski’s game-tying touchdown. MSU resorted to using Milivojevic three times to punt on fourth downs to keep Wetjen off the field.

Coaching: D-minus

Joe Rossi’s defensive game plan worked for three quarters yet again, until offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren’s offense went dry yet again. Lindgren and coach Jonathan Smith decided to go for a fourth-and-3 near the end of the first half and somehow escaped disaster after Milivojevic’s under-duress screen pass was picked off near midfield; Iowa missed a field goal. But the end-game decision to then not go for it on fourth-and-2 at the MSU 45 – using Milivojevic to pooch-punt with the game on the line – proved even more baffling after going for it earlier; it gave Iowa the ball one last time with 41 seconds left at its own 21.

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football grades vs Iowa: Final punt call still baffling