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    Three things we learned against Iowa
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    Three things we learned against Iowa

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    3 minutes, 11 seconds Read

    Three takeaways from Tony Paul of The Detroit News following Michigan State's 32-20 win over Iowa in Week 8.

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    Senior receiver Montorie Foster Jr. has been at Michigan State for a while, while freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles is relatively new to the program. So it only made sense that it might take a while for the two to start clicking. Foster hinted last week that that time was coming, and Saturday night it came in a big way.

    Chiles hit Foster five times for 100 yards – the first 100-yard receiver game of Foster's career (his previous best was 94, twice last season) – including an 18-yard touchdown that led to a 75-yard Scoring drive crowned.

    Freshman receiver Nick Marsh also reached the 100-yard mark with 113 receiving yards on eight catches. Marsh narrowly missed a touchdown when he was brought down on an 11-yard catch at the 1 in the fourth quarter.

    “This is beautiful, man,” Chiles said. “Like both, all of our receivers should have five, six catches per game. I think that’s the way our offense runs, especially when the running game hits, everything should go perfect.”

    “It's a nice thing knowing we can come out and have guys you can trust in all areas of the offense.”

    Chiles distributed his 22 completions to five different receivers.

    Kicking and screaming

    Aidan Chiles wasn't exactly happy with Saturday's win over Iowa, even though he led the team in scoring eight of 10 total goals. Only two of the drives resulted in touchdowns.

    “We did great getting to the red zone, but we have to finish now,” Chiles said.

    Jonathan Kim, a graduate place-kicker, made field goals on the other six shots, setting an MSU record for field goals made in a game. The previous record was five, set three times, including twice by Paul Edinger. Kim practiced field goals of 42, 43, 36, 29, 55 and 46 yards. He was responsible for all the goals in the first half.

    Kim, in his second year at MSU, now has 15 of 16 field goals this season, his only miss coming at the end of the first half on Saturday when he narrowly missed a 55-yard attempt.

    Even on a historic night, Kim had some trouble with the kickoffs. He got under some and hit others as he fought the wind. Iowa returned six of nine kickoffs for 156 yards, while Kaden Wetjen returned five for 145 yards, with a 39-yarder.

    “There were definitely some kickoffs I would like to have back,” Kim said.

    We're getting closer

    When one Michigan State player after another said before the Iowa game that the Spartans were “close” to putting it all together, you weren't sure what to think after three straight losses, including losses to Ohio State and Oregon.

    Turns out Aidan Chiles and the Spartans weren't kidding. In every respect, Michigan State played a more complete game than it has in a long time. On offense, MSU had two 100-yard receivers, set a season-high in rushing yards and didn't fumble once. Defensively, Iowa was held to 58 yards and two first downs in the first half. On special teams, Jonathan Kim made six field goals (we'd talk about the punter, but, well, MSU didn't punt). The Spartans dominated time of possession, nearly 2-1. And penalties, a bugbear for most of the season, weren't even a big problem.

    Suddenly, a remaining schedule with Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers seems feasible, especially when the Spartans still say they're close to putting it all together — but not there yet, even after beating Iowa .

    “You're constantly learning… it doesn't stop,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “I think we learned that if we can play disciplined football, we are very capable. We have a real belief in what we are doing.”

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    @tonypaul1984

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