Michigan State University
Iowa
Hawkeyes Dump Spartans, 44-16
10/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct 12, 2002
By TODD DVORAK
Associated Press Writer
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa's secondary came up with a plan to stop Charles Rogers on Saturday - study film and frustrate him with physical play.
It worked.
The Hawkeyes' much maligned pass defense held Rogers to five catches for 78 yards and ended his NCAA record streak of 14 straight games with a TD catch. The defense also collected four sacks, forced two fumbles and picked off three passes as No. 17 Iowa beat Michigan State 44-16.
"We knew we had to study a lot of film this week because they have a lot of great receivers," said Iowa safety Bob Sanders, who intercepted a pass in the first quarter.
"I think it paid off because we knew everything they were going to do. The three interceptions we got today were on plays we knew where they were going," he said.
The win made Iowa (6-1, 3-0) bowl eligible, and the Hawkeyes share the Big Ten lead with Ohio State.
Iowa, which entered the game ranked 116th in the nation in pass defense, held Michigan State (3-3, 1-1) to 186 yards passing and 58 rushing.
Like previous games, Iowa also capitalized on big plays. Jermelle Lewis returned a first-quarter kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Safety Derek Pagel picked off a Jeff Smoker pass intended for Rogers and raced 62 yards for a score. And Brad Banks threw touchdown passes of 62 and 25 yards to C.J. Jones.
"When you get guys hustling, that's when good things happen," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Hustling doesn't guarantee something good is going to happen. But I know this: If you're not, chances are they aren't going to happen, and this is something our guys are buying into."
Michigan State started strong. After stopping Iowa's first possession, the Spartans mounted a 12-play, 54-yard drive, capped by Dawan Moss' 2-yard TD run. The Spartans were helped by two third-down pass interference penalties inside the 10-yard line, the second on a pass thrown to Rogers.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lewis fielded the ball at the 6, ran through a wall of blockers and raced, untouched, down the sideline. The play was the second longest kickoff return in school history and set off a string of 44 unanswered points for the Hawkeyes.
Then came a string of Spartan turnovers and mistakes.
Smoker threw two interceptions that led to 10 first-quarter points and Iowa sacked Michigan State quarterbacks four times, twice causing fumbles that were recovered deep in Spartan territory.
"It's very hard to play over the number of turnovers," Michigan State coach Bobby Williams said. "Consistently turning the ball over deep in our territory with our defense's back to the wall ... really makes it hard to play winning football."
Iowa's offense, which came into the game leading the Big Ten, amassed just 284 yards.
Fred Russell, ranked fourth in the nation in rushing, ran for 75 yards and a TD. Brad Banks completed 8 of 19 passes for 154 yards, but frustrated the Spartans all day with his ability to elude the rush and run for first downs. His 62-yard TD pass to Jones in the second quarter gave Iowa a 24-7 lead.
Jones said all the pregame hype focused on Rogers helped motivate Iowa receivers.
"Everybody was talking about Rogers, but we just felt we had to come out and make a name for ourselves," said Jones.
Nate Kaeding added three field goals, extending his streak to 17 straight.
