Following a 26-16 loss to Iowa on Saturday night, Michigan State lost its first road contest of the 2023 campaign, and dropped its third-straight game to fall 2-3 overall and 0-2 in Big Ten play.

The Spartans had many opportunities to win the game, and the effort from the players appeared to be strong. Despite all the recent turmoil in the program, following the firing of head coach Mel Tucker and the current issues regarding name, image and likeness (NIL), the players are continuing to fight, according to acting head coach Harlon Barnett.

However, effort only can get a team so far if the execution isn't there and costly mistakes are abundant. For the second week in a row, costly penalties and back-breaking turnovers led to a loss for the Spartans. Add in late special teams blunders (including allowing Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean to score on a 70-yard punt return to take the lead late in the fourth quarter), an inability to sustain drives on offense and other miscues, it ultimately ended in defeat for MSU.

The defense played well and Michigan State dominated in time of possession (33:48 to 26:12), total yardage (349 to 222), first downs (20-14) and several other categories.

With that said, there are more telling statistics that define the Spartans' loss to the Hawkeyes. Let's examine.

This is the number of offensive touchdowns scored by Michigan State on Saturday night. The Spartans' lone touchdown of the game versus Iowa came on a 42-yard fumble recovery score by linebacker Cal Haladay.

It was Haladay's third career defensive touchdown, which ties the Michigan State program record.

In fact, there was only one offensive touchdown scored all night between the two teams, which came on a 13-yard reception by Iowa tight end Erick All, in which he broke several tackles after a short throw by backup quarterback Deacon Hill (starting quarterback Cade McNamara exited the game in the first quarter with an injury).

As mentioned, Michigan State dominated in total yardage and controlled the clock. The running game was strong as running back Nathan Carter rushed for 108 yards on 20 attempts (5.4) yards per carry and the Spartans outgained the Hawkeyes on the ground by a tally of 156 yards to 61 yards, a difference of 95 yards. The Spartans also had 32 more passing yards (193 to 161).

Michigan State ran 76 total plays compared to just 59 for Iowa. The Spartans also averaged 4.6 yards per play to the Hawkeyes' 3.8 yards per play. But none of that matters if the team can't cross the goal line.

Over the past three games, Michigan State has scored a combined two offensive touchdowns. MSU can't win games this way. No team can. From the coaching to the play calls to the execution on the field, a lot of things need to be fixed for the Spartans' offense moving forward.

This is the probably most obvious statistic as to why Michigan State lost the game, but four turnovers and 10 points off of those takeaways directly impacted the outcome of the contest.

Quarterback Noah Kim threw three interceptions, including two in the second half, while wide receiver Tre Mosley had a costly fumble with 3:29 left to play in the game. Mosley's fumble came just two plays into the Spartans' drive that followed the aforementioned 70-yard punt return touchdown by DeJean that gave Iowa a 23-16 lead.

Following the fumble, Iowa added a 34-yard field goal by kicker Drew Stevens, which gave the Hawkeyes a 10-point lead at 26-16 with under one minute to play, putting the game out of reach for the Spartans.

On Kim's first interception, there appeared to possibly be some sort of miscommunication with wide receiver Jaron Glover, but the play never had a chance. The last interception by Kim was inconsequential as the Spartans were already down 10 points and Iowa then just took a knee to wind down the final few seconds of the game clock, but five interceptions over the past two games, and six total through five games this season, is far too many.

Iowa had two turnovers of its own, the aforementioned fumble that led to the Spartans' only touchdown of the game, and an interception, but it didn't end up hurting the Hawkeyes. Of course, turning the ball over more often than your opponent generally correlates directly to a loss. That has been evident over the past two weeks.

Michigan State has now turned the ball over nine times in the past two games combined. The Spartans will need to use the bye week to emphasize ball security, although that is something that is always preached during the practice week, but perhaps the coaching staff needs to find a new way to get the players to translate that from the practice field to the game field.