Connor Cook has to bounce back for Michigan State at QB following his first road test at Notre Dame. I believe Cook will bounce back after a BYE with plenty of confidence and the arm to make any play on the field. In the bye week he worked a lot on his foot work and I think we will see it early against Iowa. Cook also has taken care of the ball without throwing an INT. Michigan State sports the better defense in this one and they are a bit more balanced where as Iowa is 9th in the country with a 66% run play call percentage. Michigan State is #2 allowing just 1.9 ypc. Iowa's success running the ball has set up 3rd and short, but against Michigan State they will have to throw the ball which is not going to be easy.
Jake Rudock is going to have a hard time completing anything the way Michigan State plays defense with press coverage and he already has 4 interceptions. Both defenses have played one quality offensive opponent this year, MSU played Notre Dame while Iowa played Northern Illinois. Michigan State completely dominated the line of scrimmage on the road against Michigan State while Iowa hosted Northern Illinois and allowed 438. What was also hidden in the Notre Dame game was how well this Michigan State offensive line played. Special teams is also an advantage for the Spartans as they feature an All-Big10 punter in Sadler who is great at pinning teams inside the 20. Michigan State has a dubious offense and a magnificent defense. Bet you did-n't know that Michigan State has won more Big Ten games over the last 5 years than any other school. MICHIGAN STATE by 11 on Saturday.