Any hopes Iowa had of qualifying for the Big Ten Championship game and earning a berth in the College Football Playoff have evaporated in the last two weeks with losses to Oregon and Southern California.
Iowa feels there is plenty to play for in the last two games of the regular season, starting with its home finale on Saturday against reeling Michigan State.
First, Iowa (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) has plenty of incentive to win its last home game and send its seniors out on a good note. The Hawkeyes also want to position themselves for the best bowl game possible when the regular season ends.
Iowa also wants to get the taste of tough, close losses to Oregon (18-16) and USC (26-21) over the last two weeks out of its system.
“I think the team has the right mindset,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’d had great leadership. I’ve talked about that for quite a while and it’s been really consistent. That’s critically important, certainly. And again, it’s all about moving on afterwards.”
Michigan State (3-7, 0-7) comes in on a free fall, having lost seven straight games following a 3-0 start and now knowing it won’t go to a bowl game for a fourth straight season.
There is a lot of uncertainty going forward about the status of second-year head coach Jonathan Smith, but all he is focusing on is having a strong finish to the season, starting with Iowa.
“This team is similar to what they’re known for,” Smith said of Iowa, a team Michigan State beat last year in East Lansing, 32-20. “They play really good defense and make it hard in a lot of ways, whether you try to run it or throw it. The quarterback makes a difference. His experience, you can see it on tape and the good decisions he makes with it, it complements a good run game.”
That quarterback, Mark Gronowski, has passed for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. He has added 13 rushing scores for the Hawkeyes.
Spartans linebacker Jordan Hall has stood out and leads the squad with 74 tackles and three forced fumbles. He also has two sacks and one interception.
The last time Michigan State won in Iowa City was a 26-14 decision in 2013.
