Iowa film notes

This was done around 1 a.m. Tuesday, so I went in and added a few notes from Mark Dantonio's Tuesday presser where applicable. Going through this whole thing would be like finishing the Old 96er, gristle included.

    But keep in mind, this is one of the best games I've ever covered, and night games mean much less ability to watch closely, so I went nuts on the DVR.

First quarter
MSU all but perfect on first two defensive possessions. Swarming, covering downfield. Jerel Worthy held on a play, no call. Iowa can’t block him. Jeremy Ware great deep coverage, then nails Stanzi on a CB blitz on the next play. Ware is no Kendell Davis-Clark on those blitzes, but he finally hit the mark.
MSU, some running lanes on offense. Early drops really hurt these possessions. MSU definitely going to the tight ends. Great Cousins pass to Mark Dell off play action, setting up the second-possession field goal. Dell takes a monster hit.
Baker then with a real nice bounce-out, fumbles but he was at the sideline. Second and 2, Caper looks to have it easily but is pushed back. A strip attempt by Greenwood forced Caper to slow down and secure the ball, stopping his momentum. But he gets a good spot and the first down.
Third and 4, nice play to dump to Hawken, but Spievey makes a great individual play to hold him short of the first down. One of many on both defenses in this game. MSU settles for Brett Swenson’s record-breaking FG.
Iowa’s third possession, the zone stuff left finally gets the Hawkeyes going. Very tough to stop, and Robinson is going to be a good back in this league. Bulaga and Co. mashing the Spartans, taking out Colin Neely and Eric Gordon on a big gainer.
Great screen call, right to the spot vacated by Gordon on a blitz, for a big gain for Wegher, ending the first quarter.

Second quarter
MSU’s defense regroups and on first down from the MSU 19, Worthy blasts between two blockers and drops Robinson for a loss. Few can do some of the things this kid does. Then a run up the middle gets a couple, then MSU rushes six, a blitz that seems to fool Stanzi. He has no chance and Denson drops him. Field goal that hooked and would have been no good from five yards farther.
Thirteen minutes left in this quarter and it’s all defense. Cousins comes right out with a pretty loft over the linebacker into Sims’ chest, but he drops it. Big drop. First down near midfield forfeited. MSU gets a first down on a defensive holding, but that’s it.
Iowa comes right out with play action, Stanzi has all day, and Rucker is step for step with DJK. Excellent defense. Greg Jones grabs Robinson to save a possible big run. Then draw play, Decker makes a nice play and it’s a three-and-out.
MSU gets it back, couple runs to set up third-and-3, then a nice little swing pass to Baker for the first down. Throwing to tight ends, throwing to backs. Plenty of both tonight.
Then play action and strike to Linthicum to the Iowa 38. MSU in rhythm again. End around Keshawn for 8 to the Iowa 30. Big sequence here. Second and 2, Cousins checks into a run left to Caper. Adrian Clayborn blows past Rocco Cironi to disrupt the play, and Caper does a great job just to get back to the line. So now third and 2, within Swenson’s range. Clayborn runs free at Cousins, Cironi turns in and obviously expects help. Baker, who is not strong at pass protection, gets no part of Clayborn. It’s just hard to blame Cousins for not throwing the ball away on this one, by the time he turned he was toast. Great punt by Bates that turns right at the 5, but bounces backward to the Iowa 10.
Iowa runs three times to get a first down and out of trouble, but it can’t get another one.
MSU has a two-minute chance, starts with a screen to Blair White for a first down, then Cunningham draws interference, then a quick out to 7 to Cunningham. Then another first down on a swing pass to Larry Caper. MSU in good shape, first down at its 47 with 1:05 left. Cousins hurried by a three-man rush, escapes for four. Cousins then throws his worst pass of the night, looking to hit Dell on a slant but not seeing Iowa’s LB Hunter stepping in front. If Hunter gathers it, it’s an easy pick six.
Third and 6, quick out but Cunningham is short. So MSU runs it down and tries a Hail Mary, not a bad idea. Pass actually is just about a foot to high, or White had a shot at it.
Halftime, MSU has clearly outplayed Iowa, but it’s tied. Not the first time the Spartans’ score didn’t match their performance. Missed opportunities, a running theme. MSU’s defense in the first half might have been the best half of Mark Dantonio’s tenure, right up there with the first half against Georgia last year.

Third quarter
MSU ball, starts strong with a 22-yard strike to Cunningham. Then Baker shows his youth trying to bounce out a running play, losing a yard. Iowa is too fast laterally. So third and 11, Clayborn absolutely leaves Cironi behind and crushes Cousins for a sack. This is the best defensive lineman MSU has seen, probably the best it will see this year. Caper went out for a swing pass, he should have stayed in to block. No way MSU should leave Cironi singled on Clayborn on an obvious passing down at this point in the game.
Iowa’s first possession, immediate play-action bomb. Two receivers running posts, someone messed up. Rucker and Ware are step for step with their guys, perfect coverage. Third and 6, Jones blitzes with the three-man rush, Stanzi’s receiver is covered by Ware, no chance. Chris Martin says MSU’s secondary play has been “masterful.”
    MSU possession, Caper zone left, stripped and I have no idea how Clayborn didn’t recover that ball. Huge break for MSU. Screen to Baker, zilch. False start, suddenly it’s third and 17 at the 11. So Cousins just delivers a strike to White in the middle of the zone. Can’t throw it better. This is the scary injury with Sash and Greenwood banging helmets, scary for a few minutes, luckily Greenwood was fine. After a long delay, reverse to Martin, was looking to throw, ended up struggling to gain four. Then play action and another great pass, to Dell for 19 on a cross, in front of two guys. Then Baker makes a great move in the backfield, turns on the jets, gets the corner, cuts in, drags the pile and ends up with 37 yards to the 2. Explosive plays all over the place for MSU. A touchdown here is huge.
    First down, Sash shoots in, Baker no gain, but Iowa is offsides. So first and goal from the 1. Play action, like the call, but Hawken and Linthicum are covered well and Cousins throws it away. Second down, Baker nice surge to the goal line but can’t quite get it across, Moss got away with a blatant hold, now third down from a couple inches away. Third down, it’s just not gonna happen, but MSU tries it anyway. Too many Iowa guys to block. A hole is there briefly, with D.J. Young clearing it nicely, but Angerer just fills the hole and blasts Baker at the 2. Field goal on a drive that deserved more.
    Short kick, bad coverage gives Iowa the ball at the 38. Play action, Moeaki’s only catch of the night, great tackle by Fortener, gain of four. Iowa goes to its best bet, running left. Neely loses contain, Denson hemmed in, Fortener misses tackle, Robinson into MSU territory. Then play action, blitz, Stanzi unloads incomplete. Then Stanzi rolls and throws the ball right to Ware. Gotta catch that one, easy pick. Third and 10, Ware blitzes, deep to DJK, Ross Weaver with the best coverage you can possibly have. Tips it away, another great series for MSU’s defense.
    MSU gets it back, Caper back on the field. Have to wonder why he didn’t get a crack at the goal line instead of Baker. Quick three and out for MSU, White doubled and Cousins can’t fit it in, then Cousins steps up, has Gantt and Cunningham, throws between them and Iowa nearly gets a diving pick. Bates liner punt goes out at midfield, Iowa is set up to score.
    Play action, Stanzi into triple coverage to Stross, Rucker breaks it up. Wegher zone right, Anderson and Oren Wilson cleared out, 9-yard gain. Stanzi dive for the first. After a quick slant for 7, Worthy tries to guess the snap count and jumps. His response? Explodes into the backfield and drops Wegher for a loss of three. And that’s the end of the third quarter.

Fourth quarter
    Stanzi escapes the rush to set up a third and 6, and then a great call by Iowa. Just slam it left with Wegher, MSU caught off guard, Bulaga comes out and takes Jones out, and Wegher gets 11. Then Robinson right, Gordon taken out, he slams and drives the pile all the way to the 1. The go-ahead touchdown is at hand.
    First down. Robinson left, Jones fills and smacks him, Neely helps keep him out, barely. Second down. The obligatory play-action try. Neely and Jon Misch all over Stanzi, Jones good coverage, incomplete to fullback. Third down. Neely with just a terrific play. He gets rid of the tight end and forces Robinson back inside – then Neely goes ahead and grabs him with one hand, too. Hyde and about 25 more guys in green jerseys immediately bury him. Neely banged up on the play. Murray ties it with another field goal that looks like something I might kick. Twelve minutes left, 6-6 and this has already been a great game.
    MSU starts deep after the kickoff bounces and has a third and 5. Cousins all day, somehow gets a bullet to Gantt off his back foot, and Gantt just moves the chains. Third and 6, perfect slant thrown to Dell. Coverage is good, but the ball hits Dell cleanly in his hands and he drops it. Fourth drop for MSU’s receivers. Punt time, and this time Bates hits a beauty.
    Adam Decker in at Mike for Jones, stops Robinson after a gain of four. Nine-minute mark. Worthy is the key on the next play, slipping in and grabbing Robinson after a yard. Third and 5, Stanzi has to call a timeout. Comes out with a hard count, and the guy he was looking to draw obliges. Big mistake from Worthy. Robinson, short gain, Gordon big pop.
    So here’s the controversial play. Stanzi gets it to Colin Sandeman in the flat on second and 7, and Ware blasts Sandeman around the line of scrimmage. Huge hit. Very, very close, but it did not look illegal to me in real time or in slow motion. The announcers both agree it did not look helmet to helmet. Flag comes out late. Two things. One, Ware did a little pose over Sandeman’s twitching body right after the pop. Two, Sandeman is down for a long time. Wrong reasons for the flag there. At the same time, you see hits just like that, or less, called a lot these days. If the flag comes out right away, it isn’t disputed nearly as loudly. But you really can't ask Ware to do anything different than he did.
    First down in MSU territory. Rucker fills and blasts Robinson at the line. Monster game for Rucker at this point. Robinson again, short gain, swarming tacklers, third and 5. Here’s a huge play I completely forgot about until watching the game again. Stanzi steps back, no blitz, all day, finds DJK down the sideline. Rucker has excellent coverage, but the ball is dropped into the receiver’s hands as if from directly above. Stanzi’s first real impressive play, down to the MSU 8.
    First and goal, Worthy jumps again but gets back. Iowa goes that way with Robinson and Jones saves a touchdown with a diving stop. Second and goal at the 3. Again, the go-ahead touchdown is in view. Robinson gets to the 1, but a big call against Iowa costs the Hawkeyes 10 yards. Gordon is tackled on the play. So what does Ferentz do? Plays for the field goal. Robinson left for three (twisting ankle), then a draw to Wegher, which actually had a chance before Gordon got there. Hard to score on that play from 10 yards out, though.
    Oh by the way, Wegher fumbled on the play, as detailed by several replays. But the announcers never realized that Wegher got the ball right back. Watch it again in live action, he hands it to the official. So Murray hits another one of those bullets to make it 9-6 Iowa with 2:56 left.
    Now the new game begins. MSU opts for Keshawn Martin at KR, interesting decision that pays off. Short kick to the 9, Linthicum, Hawken and Garrett Celek get great blocks and Martin gets to the 40.
    First down, Moss is beat by Ballard for a quick sack. Second down, Young is beat by Binns for another sack. Timeout MSU. Big, big trouble. Two downs to get 18 yards. The next play is one of the best combinations of call and execution in a clutch situation that I can recall. Amazing, right down to the way Linthicum waited patiently before giving a perfect flip to White. If MSU wins, this is on that top 10 list of all-time plays. (And it’s a hook-and-lateral, by the way. I know, hook-and-ladder is accepted and everyone says it that way. But I hate it. It’s a hook. And it’s a lateral.)
    Then MSU has to take its final timeout, a mix-up of some kind. Cousins comes out and throws short on a screen to Martin. Then comes the next wow play. Cousins has just been sacked twice, but he steps up to avoid one rusher, stands in with another right in his face, and somehow puts a perfect pass on White (who ran the wrong route) in the end zone. Hysterics. MSU is up 13-9, 1:37 from first place and a Rose Bowl chase, and from those two plays getting bronzed.
    Swenson kick to the 9, return to the 30. Not terrible considering MSU’s struggles in that department this season. Iowa has 1:32 to get it done, with one timeout. MSU comes out rushing three, dropping eight. Stanzi puts a nice pass on Marvin McNutt for 15 yards, in the soft part of the zone. No pressure, he has all day to make the right pass. (NOTE: At Tuesday's presser, Dantonio said this is the only play on the drive that he would say MSU is in "prevent" defense).
    First down again, three rush again. This time it works perfectly. He has no one open, decides to take off, Trevor Anderson grabs him after a short gain, and the clock is running. This is why coaches play this kind of defense in these situations. You take away the big play. You try to take away the sidelines so they have to stay inbounds. And hopefully you still get some heat on the quarterback, as on that play.
    Next play, three rush, eight drop. Stanzi tries to hit McNutt on the sideline. Ross Weaver is all over it, breaking it up. Probably should have picked it off. Great play, though, the defense is working fine, and now it’s third and 8.
    Fifty four seconds left. Three rush again, and Stanzi knows where he’s going right away. He hits Stross on a drag route, three yards past the line of scrimmage. A great play in that situation, and Stross finds a seam between Gordon and Jones. Then he jukes Kendell Davis-Clark to get an extra 8 yards or so, total of 22. Jones actually makes a heck of a play to catch him from behind. If you want to talk about prevent, fine, but if MSU rushes any more people, Stross might really turn that into a big play. That’s a play designed to beat a blitzing defense and it still happens to work with eight dropped. Stross found a seam right between Jones and Eric Gordon.
    So first down at the MSU 31, 47 ticks left. Jones blitzes to make it a four-man rush, but Stanzi releases early. Rucker is beat slightly by DJK, Stanzi puts a great throw on him, but he can’t hang on. Would have been a touchdown with 34 ticks left. On second thought, MSU would like Iowa to have that one.
    Second down. Stanzi is hot now. MSU brings six on a blitz, Jones, Ware from the corner and Gordon. Sorry folks, the "prevent" was gone long before Iowa got into the red zone. Stanzi gets rid of a perfect pass, right now. DJK, leaping grab between Weaver and KDC, to the 15. Chains are moved, and clock is at 21 as Stanzi takes the next snap.
    First down, and here’s the Rucker pick-turned-holding. DJK again. I don’t see how this call is disputed at all. Rucker kept his arm on the shoulder pad past five yards, then DJK fell and Rucker got the pick. It’s a penalty anyway, but just like in basketball, it’s definitely a call if the offender gains an advantage.
    So first down at the MSU 7, 15 seconds to go. MSU brings seven on the rush. Great call by Iowa to roll Stanzi right and look back left to Moeaki crossing. But Gordon locks up Moeaki from the start and stays with him. Rucker flies over and bats the ball away. Great defense. Another ball that could have been picked, though.
    Second down. Nine seconds left. MSU shows a seven-man rush, brings six with five in man coverage. Neely in Stanzi’s face, Stanzi and Stross mixed up on the route, ball hits harmlessly in the end zone.
    Third down. Five seconds. MSU brings seven rushers, some heat on Stanzi, he unloads immediately on a slant to Stross. Davis-Clark great job getting his hand in there and batting it away.
    Fourth down. Two seconds. Ballgame. Iowa calls timeout. MSU has its entire team in the defensive huddle, which Dantonio said later added to the chaos of the moment. And here’s the defensive call that’s most easily questioned -- not just because Stanzi said after the fact that Iowa expected this and called the play just for it. MSU brings seven on the blitz, with four in man coverage including Fortener, who is following Moeaki in motion. Two wideouts on the right side. McNutt all alone on the left, with no help for Rucker. (NOTE: Dantonio said he questioned the defense on this play over the past couple days, but ultimately decided max pressure and man coverage was the right call). But if you’re going to leave Rucker in this situation, you have to make sure he knows he can’t give up the inside position. The fade to the corner is much harder to complete. But he does, and that’s it. Easiest completion of the day for Stanzi, who somehow had no heat on him. MSU probably should have dropped at least one more man into coverage to protect the middle of the field. But then, if the Spartans do that and Stanzi stands there all day and picks out a receiver, everyone is screaming that MSU should have sold out. Remember the 1998 win at Ohio State? Four all-out blitzes, four OSU incompletions. Renaldo Hill takes away the inside on the last play, picks off the feeble attempt to the outside. (NOTE: Dantonio mentioned this Tuesday -- after I wrote this, I swear -- and said the "Cobra" blitz used in the OSU game was the same blitz MSU used this time). Bottom line: this was a great offensive call, a critical mistake, an amazing win, an amazing loss.