It was the most "Iowa" of wins, and the most "John L Smith" of losses in Michigan State's 26-16 loss to the Hawkeyes last Saturday.

Like a land war in Asia, NEVER get into a punting war with Iowa. There isn't a necessarily schematic explanation for MSU's loss, other than Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean's punt return was apparently the result of a directional punt not being covered, an inverse of the game-saving punt return against Nebraska in 2021.

The loss — in which, by all statistical forecasting, MSU should have won — came much more from an execution standpoint: turnovers, special teams miscommunications on said punt and a stuffed fourth-and-1 conversion on a questionable call.

There's no getting around the fact that a large portion of the blame can be placed squarely on the slender shoulders of quarterback Noah Kim. I would strongly advise against the tantalizing thought that all could be fixed with a quarterback change, though. To be clear, the MSU offensive output against Power Five and conference opponents is wholly unacceptable.

I can understand the appeal of Kim, in theory. There have been multiple instances where he looks like an ambulatory Big Ten quarterback, spelled with long stretches of ineffectiveness, punctuated by back-breaking mistakes. One can only imagine he is more consistent in practice, and that the coaches feel that Katin Houser or Sam Leavitt would be even more volatile in games. It is my personal opinion that little harm could be done in seeing what one of the young quarterbacks has to offer after the bye week, but I don't overly fault the staff for not throwing a young quarterback into the fray into a night game at Kinnick Stadium: a post-bye game at Rutgers seems much more palatable.

I also think the decision to go for a fourth-and-1 on the Michigan State 30-yard line was affected by a desire to protect Kim: keep a drive alive, chew clock and prevent the need for a high-leverage drive late. However, as was spectacularly seen, the MSU attempt at a "tush push" quarterback sneak was completely ineffectual.

This past weekend, which saw multiple college football and NFL teams fail at the "tush push" in short yardage, underscored my contention after the Central Michigan game and heading into Week Two that the "just go under center" argument for short yardage was reductionist. MSU used its usual setup for a quarterback sneak, motioning in a tight end to push the pile. This is a clear telegraph, which shouldn't matter if it is well executed. However...

Below, MSU's offensive line gets absolutely no push, with the Iowa defensive line submarining under the offensive players, and unlike the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts, Noah Kim does not have legs that can squat a Soviet-era tank.

On the bright side, I did CLEARLY identify an occasion where Mark Dantonio's fingerprints on the program is clear.

Dantonio's double-A gap blitz absolutely terrorized Big Ten opponents in some of his glory years, and it was a staple in both run and pass defense. Here, MSU walks both a linebacker and a secondary player into the A gap, who both activate into run fits on the snap. It's not the same as a traditional blitz, but it's still a welcome addition to the defensive suite of plays.

Also on the defensive side of the ball, MSU did something I haven't really seen, and dropped its ends into coverage on multiple occasions. It makes sense: a team that struggles on offense, try to fill as many passing lanes as possible, especially on underneath checkdowns that Iowa likes to hit in the hook/curl zone. It also allows a team that usually runs out two true linebackers to supplement its underneath coverage.