The Michigan State Spartans will travel to Iowa City for a Saturday night game in Kinnick Stadium versus the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kickoff wis set for 7:37 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC.
Last weekend, Michigan State lost its second game in a row at home, this time to the Maryland Terrapins, by a final score 31-9. Now, the Spartans will face an Iowa team coming off of a blowout loss, 31-0, at Penn State.
Michigan State acting head coach Harlon Barnett has not provided the public with a depth chart, so here are my predictions for the Spartan starters and reserves against Iowa.
Quarterback
Starter: Noah Kim
Backup: Katin Houser, Sam Leavitt
Kim has now struggled in back-to-back games against power conference competition, but Barnett has already said that Kim will continue to be Michigan State's starter. Though his passing overall was better versus Maryland than it was against Washington, and he made some plays with his feet, he threw two interceptions that were simply products of poor decisions. He also was off-target on some throws, and had some drops from wide receivers that hurt him. Against Iowa, he cannot start slow, needs to avoid turnovers and perhaps needs to make some gains in the ground game.
It's possible we'll see Houser in relief at some point in the game. He is young and raw, but going through growing pains is part of the process. He provides potential to get big chunks of yards, but again must avoid turnovers and bad sacks.
Leavitt can appear in three more games and retain his redshirt. I am unsure if the staff believes the environment is beneficial for learning or if they'll hold off for another place and time.
Running back
Starter: Nathan Carter
Backups (if healthy): Jalen Berger, Jaren Mangham; Jordon Simmons
Carter had a costly fumble early last week, but was still the offensive player of the game against the Terps. He had 19 rushes for 97 yards along with five receptions for another 23 yards. He's going to be tasked with the lion's share of the workload once again. He's capable, but it would be desirable to have someone who could provide snaps in replacement.
Unfortunately Berger (lower leg/shin) and Mangham (lower body) are still dealing with health issues and their availability is questionable. If needed, MSU will turn to veteran Jordon Simmons to provide some assistance, though he only had one carry for three yards last weekend.
Wide receivers
Starters: Tre Mosley, Montorie Foster Jr., Jaron Glover
Backups: Christian Fitzpatrick, Tyrell Henry, Antonio Gates Jr., Alante Brown
The wideout situation remains rather static. There are six guys who rotate rather liberally during the game with little to no drop off in play. Foster was targeted the most last outing, but fell victim to a dropped touchdown pass. The unit overall has had a few more miscues, seemingly a route or two improperly run, miscommunication or receptions failed to make.
It would be nice to see Mosley more involved or perhaps for two or three players to stand out, however, for good or bad, there is not much separation in talent or production. Iowa's defensive backfield is feisty and experienced, any yards made will be yards earned.
Tight end/H-Back
Starter: Maliq Carr
Backups: Evan Morris, Jaylan Franklin
Carr wore gloves and proceeded to have his best pass catching game in terms of volume and consistency of his career. I am uncertain why, but he states the gloves were a one-game occurrence and will revert to a bare hands approach.
Morris actually started the last game and is MSU's primary blocking option at the position, but currently, he doesn't provide much of a target in the passing game. Franklin was targeted, repeatedly, yet had a disappointing outing in the loss to Maryland. He appeared to stop short and misplay a ball that had promise as a score at one point in the game. You'd like to see clearer play as a receiving option.
