‘We didn’t tackle well’: Hawkeyes defense allows 468 yards to Michigan State

Iowa’s defense allowed 468 total yards to the Michigan State Spartans. MSU didn’t punt a single time, and collected chunk play after chunk play. The performance was a true anomaly for Phil Parker’s defense, the unit hadn’t allowed this many yards since 2019.

“We just didn’t seem like we were doing much well,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We didn’t tackle well, even from the sideline you could see that. That was pretty much all over the field. It’s hard to play good defense if you don’t do that.”

“This wasn’t the night to not show up,” Jay Higgins said. “I’ve got to do better at tackling and just put my guys into a better situation and make the plays I normally make. I was just trying to get the team going, but when you don’t have a mike backer playing well, it’s going to be hard to get off the field.”

Iowa’s offense was limited to just 50 yards in the first half. While they were able to score 20 points in the 2nd, Cade McNamara and company were unable to deliver when it mattered.

“We play better when we have some rhythm and we weren’t able to,” McNamara said. “It was a lack of execution. I think I just need to play better. At the end of the day as the quarterback I have to play better in order for us to win. And I didn’t do that tonight.”

The Hawkeyes drop to 4-3, and this loss likely eliminates any Big Ten championship or college football playoff hopes. Iowa returns home for a battle with Northwestern with five games remaining on their schedule.

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