Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Is Iowa on Upset Watch vs. Michigan State? Crossover episode

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

Join host Trent Condon as he welcomes Matt Sheehan from Locked on Spartans for an exciting crossover episode! Dive into an in-depth analysis of the seasons so far for both Iowa and Michigan State. The guys break down key matchups, highlight advantages for each team, and discuss the significance of this pivotal game. With passionate insights and lively banter, they’ll also share their predictions for what promises to be a thrilling showdown. Whether you’re a die-hard Hawkeyes fan or a Spartans supporter, this episode has you covered! Tune in and get ready for game day! 🏈✨For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!ROYDownload Roy for iOS or Android and enter referral code LOCKED ON and you’ll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000 cash. Visit JoinRoy.com for additional details. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Get off the sidelines and into the NIL game with Roy.HIMSHims is changing men's healthcare by providing access to affordable sexual health treatments, all from the comfort of your home. Start your free online visit today at Hims.com/LOCKEDON for your personalized ED treatment options. LinkedInThese days every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. That’s why LinkedIn Jobs helps find the right people for your team, faster and for free. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Yes, it's the Spartans homecoming. Iowa comes in as the favorite. Who's going to walk out happy? Well, let's talk about it. You are Locked On College Crossover, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Your team, every day. Today's episode of Lockdown Spartans and Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKDOWNCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Spartan friends, Hawkeye fans, welcome to a crossover episode here. Lockdown Spartans, Lockdown Hawkeyes. What's up, everyone? I'm Matt. I do the Spartan side of things.

Over there, Trent Connan. He does the Hawkeyes side of things. Please rate, review, subscribe to wherever you are listening to this. And, hey, thanks a lot for burning up some of your time with us here at the Locked on Podcast Network. Trent, after a defiant 40-16 victory over Washington, I still maintain what I've been saying all offseason, Lon, even during the season. Now it's been up and down. The confidence has been a roller coaster.

For some reason, I've had a feeling Michigan State is going to win this game. It's homecoming. We're coming off of a bye week. You know, Iowa, how great can their offense be? If you just shut down the run game, which we're going to learn about here a little bit, not as easy as that just sounds. If you do that, though, you know what?

College football is for magic happening, and I think it's going to happen here in East Lansing. I still think MSU wins this game, but I would be lying to you if I said that. My confidence was still high. Man, you guys got a good team over there. Trent, how are you feeling about this game right now? Let's just cut to the chase. Yeah, you know, I think the complete opposite of you.

This is one, even though it was a road victory during the offseason, new coaching staff coming in from Michigan State. You guys obviously know all the lines and cliches and Hawkeye fans know this is one that I think most people had, not just in pencil, had in pen for road victory, year number one. So looking at it after the way Iowa played a week ago, the way this team definitely feels like they are trending, what we've seen out of Caleb Johnson and what we've seen out of Michigan State, even off a bye week. Well, I can come back and say, well, maybe this is a look ahead spot for Michigan State with Michigan looming the week after this one.

and say, maybe this is a look-ahead spot for Michigan State, with Michigan looming the week after this one. So I think we could kind of play both sides, but it's fun that both feel good about our squads at the very least, that there's a very realistic path probably for each of these teams to get a victory on Saturday night. You just took it right out of my mouth. There's just something different about this game because for the first time in now three weeks,

we're going to a game day where at least, okay, there is a realistic path to victory here against Iowa. No disrespect to you guys whatsoever. You guys are obviously a good team. You just beat the breaks off of Washington. But this isn't facing Oregon. And then six days earlier facing Ohio State. So, yeah, like I do have a little pep in my step. Still nervous. Let's not get it twisted here but yeah like it is nice to you know be somewhat competitive

and I gotta tell you the bye week came at just the right time for our team we're gonna hopefully get some injured guys back I just complete whether it's physical or just mental you take a lot of lumps when you face Ohio State and Oregon back-to-back. So feeling okay in that regard, too. But I got to say, I'll say it again, 40-16 win over Washington. Looked incredible. And your quarterback over there, Cade McNamara, he called that game, quote, a big step. Agree or disagree?

Was it really a seismic shift for the Iowa program? I think so. Because for the first time all year they beat somebody good Minnesota's not good Illinois State's not good Troy's not good so it was a win against a quality team and I still think that Washington team look the final score was not indicative of the way the game was and it's funny my nephew went to undergrad at Washington okay he brought a bunch of buddies from Washington, guys that had never been in the state of Iowa before,

and hearing them and some other Washington fans after the game, like, oh, man, look at the box score. How did we get beat 40-16? It's crazy. They obviously have never watched Iowa football before. This was a thing of beauty. This was the first two drives to the game washington marches down the field the first one i think it was 13 plays over 70 yards

took over seven minutes off the clock i will box the field goal the next time down they march right down the field again but then after that phil parker michigan state alum yeah longtime defensive coordinator and one of the best defensive coordinators in all of football. Yeah. He figured it out. All right. We're going to ratchet up pressure a little bit more for a long stretch, basically playing for defensive ends in the game. We're not going to play defensive tackles because they're going to be throwing the football around. We're going to play that. We're going to get our speed rush tandem out there with Brian Allen coming to the game and Maxwell. Well, and I went that direction and suddenly suddenly Iowa makes a couple of plays defensively, booms a long punt.

Oh yeah. We're still talking putting over here in Iowa city. And all of a sudden you look up, they make a couple of sport down decisions that they're going to go for it. Iowa gets a short field and just like that, it's a blowout. And this is something we haven't seen recently for Iowa, where the games that were victories and they piled up a ton of victories here recently,

but they were just so ugly and just pulling teeth to get there. Now, if Iowa plays their style, they can win football games and win football games comfortably against at least decent competition. That's I think where some of the excitement's coming from the Hawkeye side of things. I'm glad you brought the box score because I just mentioned this on a recent episode of Lockdown Spartans.

If you just look at the box score, Washington ran 80 plays, you guys ran 51. They outgained you guys by 50 yards, but yet you beat them by 1,000 points. Because there's only one or two teams in this conference that can have a game like that and still win decisively. That's just Iowa football, baby. Of course, you know full well. But, look, the offense has obviously taken a step forward from last year. We'll get more specific here in the next segment when I grill you about Iowa.

But happy with the offense so far? Obviously you've got a stud in Caleb Johnson, but it was going from the lowest bar possible where you guys were before. Is there a smile on Trent Condon's face every Saturday when he watches the offense now? Well, not every Saturday. I mean, we still had the second half against Iowa State where things went in, and that one still leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

But overall, absolutely. So to bring in Tim Lester, who was not some home run hire. This was not a guy that people were clamoring for sure this is a guy that was working as you know he was not even assistant coach last year you know being an analyst with the Green Bay Packers now listening to him he learned a ton um he has a lot of connections to the Shanahan tree and with it Matt LeFleur in Green Bay so those were good things to hear. But this is not they didn't go out and get Chip Kelly, though.

Chip Kelly apparently called Kirk Ferentz. That's another sub. That's another conversation that we had before things happened. You know, that was happening well before he found his way to Columbus. But that's great for another day. But that's not what it was. Tim Lester was one of two guys. The other one that was one of the finalists.

He also didn't get a big time job. So, but they took so long to get there. Anything though was going to be, I mean, you're talking about, it's getting a thimble full of water and it doesn't right. And that's after watching this Iowa offense. That's what it is because you look at the most simple things. I don't know if you saw the play last week by Caleb Johnson, the touchdown that he scored, receiving touchdown.

Yes. It's a very simple concept. You got three guys on the right side of formation, two receivers and a tight end. They just flood out to the left and he leaks out to the right side. Yeah. He beats the linebacker. He gets into the end zone.

It's like a 25 yard touchdown. I mean, Michigan State fans, I know you're probably laughing right now. No, but really. We didn't see this for the last three years. I get it. It's simple, very sophomoric kind of offensive schemes that we're seeing, and yet it's eye-opening. Wow, look at this.

Look at you guys. The ground game, which has been what I was supposed to be, had been stuck in mud for years. And though they still tried to run the football and could at times, the zone blocking scheme that they ran was something that was innovative 25, 30 years ago in today's environment where you can't cut block anymore. You can't hit that backside linebacker defensive end. It was dead not arrival. You couldn't run outside zone the way I would done it for the 25 years previous and because of that there was nothing left now you're seeing more innovation

in the ground game so there is a lot of excitement here yes the offensive numbers are not going to wow you but after what we've watched certainly over the two and a half seasons previous um yeah there's a lot of excitement about those kind of things and and i'm gonna guess from your perspective yeah it's year number one, but you guys had to see some positive signs. It gets you pumped up too. Without question. And, you know, similar to the Iowa offense, just MSU is a whole program.

Trent, our bar was 50,000 feet below the earth's crust. Not a lot of great things going on here at Michigan State, but look, while the points per game is, you know, nothing to write home about, I think we're at 15.7 points per game, not great at all. The offense at least looks different because, well, you know what, anchored by the quarterback, Aiden Childs, physically gifted. He has all the traits that you want. Really, it's like bringing home that perfect person to mom and dad.

Hey, I want you to meet so-and- and so they got so many great things going on except like they got the that one weird thing they do where they commit arson when they sleepwalk you know it's like it's like a major red flag for a child that's turning the ball over so many times but you know what young quarterback i'm a lot more patient than other fans are. I will give him the grace to iron that out because we do see just brilliance with his legs and his arm. But, yeah, that's just the quarterback. On the defensive side of the ball, we stole away Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, and, look, just already in year one,

the way he calls the defense differently from game to game, already working with so many injuries, too, throughout the season. With the palette he has to work with on the canvas, he's putting up as much of a Mona Lisa as he could so far, if you just ignore that Oregon game. But that's a minor league NFL team, so I didn't lose too much sleep over that one. But, yeah, things are looking better, Trent.

Are we going to go to the Rose Bowl in year one? No. But, hey, we're 3-3 at the bye week. That's pretty much what any reasonable person could have expected, and here we are. It's on schedule for year one is the short way of answering that question. Trent, I want to grill you more about your Hawkeyes. But first, guys, I need to talk your ears off about GameTime,

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You could save up until kickoff, even a half hour after kickoff. Great deals in great spots. Game time is all about saving you money. And Trent, my favorite part about game time, it is just two taps and boop, the tickets are sent straight to your phone. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets over at game time right off the bat because when you create an account and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE, you're going to get $20 off your first purchase.

Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off. Download GameTime today. What time is it? It's GameTime. All right, Trent. So the whole offseason this season, the calling card for stopping Iowa is just stop the run. Just stop the run.

Yeah. Then you see Caleb Johnson play at least one quarter of college football, and you realize, oh, this isn't just your normal, just slow down the running back thing. This guy's incredible. So my first question, Trem, Caleb Johnson is the best Iowa running back since? Ooh, Sean Green certainly I think that's where you start I was afraid so There's some talented ones that have come through here

Akron Wadley knocking off number two Michigan A few years back and almost doing that Single handedly we've had some good ones That have come through but Sean Green I think is kind of the stalwart certainly of the last 20 years plus that they've seen At the running back position you can go way back in the day and talk about Cedric Shaw and Tavian Banks and Nick Bell if we want to go back to the early 90s.

Then we go back to Ronnie Harmon. I mean, we've played this game for a long time. We can go way back to Ed Podolak if you want, but no, that aside. When you see Caleb Johnson, so he shows up on the scene two years ago as a true freshman, and they played that crazy game. Some Spartan fans might remember that they played up until like 1.30 in the morning because of Lightning Delight against Nevada. Late in the game, he's in there. He's getting some carries during the first half. All right. True freshman. Kind of heard a little buzz about him. He was committed to Cal coming out.

Ohio kid committed to Cal. That's weird. And Iowa came in and swooped him away. That aside. And he has a touchdown run. All right. He's kind of a long strider. And I see one of these clips up on Twitter. And it mentions his miles per hour. Like, okay, he's a pretty big guy.

5'11", 220. Yes. And with that long stride, it doesn't look like he's going. It was like 21 and a half miles an hour. It was the second fastest in college football at that point. Like, whoa. So he has a nice freshman year, nearly 1,000 yards. Last year, banged up maybe a little bit in the doghouse. Okay.

And also became kind of forgotten, if you will. Gotcha. He was 13 coming into the season. He was suspended for the first half of the first game of the season. And LaShawn Williams, who was a starter a year ago, he was banged up both in the spring and then got hurt again with a different injury in August camp. The backup, Kamari Moulton, who was getting a ton of buzz,

played a little bit as a true freshman a year ago, still made his red shirt, just didn't click when he was getting carries early on. So here comes Caleb Johnson, and he rips one off, and he rips another one off, and he's doing those things that we saw early in his freshman campaign he's different um some people kind of talk about eric dickerson with him because he's got that more upright kind of running style he's a bigger running back now he's not as angular as eric dickerson was but that's what you're gonna see and you'll continue to see

this he gets these scenes he's really good about finding the seam and he's he's so much more patient than he was early in his career as a running back where just boom, hit the hole and go. Now he's waiting for those blocks to develop more. But secondly, how many times you see a guy, a safety, a cornerback, an outside linebacker think they have the angle and they don't. That angle. And it's again, because of those long strides and just the way that he runs is so deceiving of how fast that he is and and that's why i think you're seeing so many big runs he's got the most 20 plus runs uh yard runs in college football and that's a big reason for it and the offensive line just

does such like a clinical job of just zone blocking too and some of these runs i mean even the ones you know where things fall apart it's like okay well there are three people in the same phone booth as him finally he's going to take a tackle for loss and then what's oh great he's 16 yards upfield so i have to emphasize it to michigan state fans like this isn't just like oh he's a pretty good big 10 running back this cat is elite he is he is great guys so with that said though let's talk kade McNamara. Okay, no stranger to Michigan State fans, of course. He played over at Michigan a few years ago.

But he's had two passing games so far this year with over 110 passing yards out of your six games. There's five touchdowns, three interceptions. So this is a weird question, I guess. Is it disappointing to see how little he's doing in the pass game? Or point blank, is it simply just, well, he doesn't have to do anything. The run game's this good. Yes and yes.

Yes, it's disappointing. The Iowa fan base, there is a large segment that's out. They paid the NIL funds to bring in this quarterback. He was damaged goods. Then he gets hurt last year before the season began for a second time. Then tears his ACL against you guys later on in the season. So those were different injuries. So there's people he struggled mightily in the one open practice that we get

during August Kids Day where he was, I think, like 8 of 24, if memory serves, in that. And people were just out. So they also brought in, finally, a competent, at least you'd hope a competent backup, at Brendan Sullivan, who was a starter for five games last year at Northwestern. And people are ready for him.

So Sullivan comes into the games when they get now inside the 10-yard line. They were absolutely awful inside the 10 against Iowa State, had the ball two different times inside the 3-yard line, got two field goals out of it, and a game where he lose by a point yeah that's gonna stay in a big time way and since then Sullivan has been the guy that has come in and run a lot of zone read stuff he's a much better runner much better athlete so those kind of things he also made his first big mistake last week and luckily his knee was down as he uh tried to chuck it out to the outside and nothing was there except a fumble and maybe a defensive score for Washington.

But his knee was down and called down on that play. But there's a lot of people, as I said, that are just out on McNamara because the arm strength isn't there. You wonder if it's ever going to come back. Look, when he was at Michigan, arm strength was not exactly his for at the top of the list. When you're talking about him, he missed a big throw at the top of the list when you're talking about him he missed a big throw at the end of the first half that would have been an easy touchdown after caleb johnson set him up with a 53 yard run so it's interesting they're not asking him to do a ton uh you hear tim lester he said minnesota he didn't play very well looked like on the surface he thought it was his best

game of the year you go back to the ohio State game. You see how the third quarter imploded. He's stripped twice. He's intercepted. Also, before that, he was 9-10 in the first half and picked up, I think, five first downs on throws. But also, the one miss that he had in those first 10 attempts was a sure touchdown that he left short out of 40-yard throws. So, it's really a back-and-forth.

Well, if you want to go to a dangerous place, go to Hawkeye Twitter and bring up Cade McInerney and see what happens to you. You know what? We'll spice it up Saturday. I'm going to be at a wedding. The open bar will be there. You know what? If the game gets sideways, why not stoke a few flames?

Just to switch sides of the ball really quick here because, shocker, I was incredible at defense for the 30th straight year in a row. Now, look, you've held every team not named ohio state on your schedule so far to 21 or less points point blank trent super broad question like what is the straw that's stirring the drink over there on defense so uh to be honest until probably last week this defense has been a disappointment for really okay okay so you return nine or ten starters depending on how you count it up cooper gene was hurt for the last four games of last year of disappointment for us. Okay. Okay. So you return nine or 10 starters, depending on how you count it up.

Cooper to Jean was hurt for the last four games of last year, but nine, 10 starters back from a year ago, our guys was starting experience, 10 starters back. A lot of guys came back for bonus years, COVID years, six years,

those kinds of things this season. And with it, the expectations were really high. They have struggled to generate much of a pass rush. That has been a huge component to it. That's why, as I mentioned earlier, they brought out kind of those, that four defensive end look that worked a lot better getting pressure against Washington. The middle is incredible. Jay Higgins is as good as you're going to find at middle linebacker, maybe as good of a middle linebacker has been in the big 10 in a long time, just because we just don't see middle linebackers

that put up the kind of numbers that he does. But, you know, it's again, Iowa standards are really high on the defensive side of the football. And I think they have disappointed. And even last week against Washington, the two long drives to begin the football game, two drives over seven minutes each, over 12 plays each. That's not what we're used to with this Iowa defense. So they're playing well. This is a good defense, but it's not the elite-level defense maybe we've seen at times the last three or four years.

Gotcha. Okay, well, you know, I'll take that as music to my ears over here because we can use any help we can get over here. You know what? We're going to flip the script here. Trent's going to grill me about the Spartans here. But first, I need to talk everyone's ear off about FanDuel Sportsbook. And as it pertains to this game, right now,

Trent's Hawkeyes are six-and-a-half-point favorites hitting the road to East Lansing. If you're feeling that for Iowa, or hey, if you're going to come to my side and you like Sparty in this game, getting six-and-a-half points, folks, go ahead and do that wagering over at FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

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when you place your first $5 bet. Again, $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. That's at FanDuel.com. America's number one sportsbook, FanDuel.com. All right, Trent. I'm on the grill. I'm ready to be fried. Let's go.

Let's get into it. And, well, let's start. It's the most important position in football. Punter. No, no, no. Yes, sir, let's start. It's the most important position in football. Punter. No, no, no. Yes, sir. Why, Neckley? We're talking to a Hawkeye guy.

We're not going Punter first. Tell me more about Aiden Childs. I've seen Aiden Childs play a little bit. You mentioned the turnovers earlier, and that got me excited. Got me a little fired up here because the Hawkeyes have been pretty good at. What we're going to see because, look, I'm going to pull out my inner Kirk Ferentz and bring up something from 20, 25 years ago. Antoine Randall-El still throws nightmares.

I know in Kirk Ferentz he brings them up seemingly every year at some press conference. So I see an athletic quarterback. Athletic quarterbacks have given even the best of Iowa defense's trouble and definitely can see that from him. You've got like 45 minutes, right? Because I could go on and on about Aiden Childs. No, I'll try to keep it short. Look, the physical tools that you get, hopefully we see a little more of it this week.

I thought they had something going on in the second half with design quarterback runs. Something they haven't been doing a lot with Aiden Childs. I think that's to kind of preserve his health, too, early on this season. So I think the legs are going to be something of a strength here this upcoming Saturday. We'll see. His arm strength is incredible. There's only a handful of quarterbacks in college that can make some of the throws he is making. Now, on the contrary, I'm not saying this guy should be in New York for the Heisman ceremony coming up

because the turnover issues are a catastrophic issue for Michigan State so far. I've called him human cryptocurrency. You feel like you're on a yacht that came as one drive. And at the very next drive, you're wondering what's been going on. I will say this though. I have seen growth from the first week where he's making reckless decisions, doing a little too much to extend plays,

forcing balls in uncomfortable situations. Like he did multiple times in the Boston college game against Ohio state and Oregon, two very good defenses. Not a lot of forcing of the ball. Now, that's not to say he didn't have fumbles in those games. That's a different issue. But we're seeing growth.

We are seeing learning. Do we all wish it was a little faster? Yes, but right now this is the best chance we got to win a game. Very physically gifted young kid. We just got to live and die by him, and it depends on the drive what we've been doing living or dying yeah another way i go is i want to get your perspective on the depth of your wide receivers or pass catchers you throw tight ends in there too

because i was got one really good cornerback in jamari harris another guy that stuck around for a six year he's by far playing his best football of his career. The other side has been a revolving door. They've had three different guys out there are really back and forth between two. So depth at the wide receiver position, Andre Rison, BJ Cunningham, Mark Dell. I mean, you guys, I think Michigan state, I always think about you guys always have a dude. Do you have a couple of dudes this year? It's a fine room, the wide receiver i i don't think i'm out of line saying that i i'm not you know gonna shine him up too high i'm also not gonna dog them completely montori foster comes back very veteran guy he's had good moments this

year drunk lover decent moments what we are trying to break in though is nick marsh former top 150 recruit overall he's a true freshman this year and he's had some great moments so far Maryland he absolutely torched the terrapins but he still is a little unrefined he's still raw like where he made a lot of his hay against Maryland is just those fly routes those post routes down the field basically being like I'm 6'4 I'm fast none of you guys are and for some reason you only have one guy on me with no safety help so that was the the benefit that we got with Maryland. And he still has some good moments even outside of that game.

But overall, with Nick Marsh still being as young and raw as he is and the other guys just not being big yards after catch guys either, it's a fine room. I know it's such like a lame answer, but they're eh. Yeah. Eh. Eh. And tight ends are, eh, too. Like I, look, we brought over Jack Velling from Oregon State,

caught eight touchdowns last year, led the nation in tight end touchdowns. So far, no touchdowns at all from our tight ends, but that, that happens when you have, I think it's six or seven red zone turnovers. Now you can't really use your targets in the red zone. If you just hand the ball straight over to the other team before you even get the chance to run those plays. So that's another fun issue we got here. You mentioned Joe Rossi.

We knew him. Well, obviously our big, one of our big rivals, of course, is the go-fors and really was impressed at times what he was able to do up there with Minnesota. Some different schemes that you saw from him every single time.

You look at what he is doing with this defense. Again, kind of just going historically when I think of the best Michigan State teams, a good defense always goes along with it. How he's doing it just as a whole, how this group looks. I think pretty strong. And like that Oregon game was such an outlier for run defense specifically. And like that gave me pause because even against Ohio state, Ohio state still on paper ran the ball pretty well,

but they had three explosive runs that kind of skewed the numbers. And I'm not going to do the whole like, Oh, well they, they actually didn't happen. No, like those plays happen, but at least it wasn't Ohio state getting like seven yards,

nine yards, eight yards, like off the rip every time, like Oregon did the following week. So six games into the season, the run defense has looked good, if not great, in five of them. It's just that one outlier is with an Oregon team that has really, really talented players.

And, well, when you guys have a really talented running back and you guys are so technically sound at the blocking, that's what gives me a little pause. But overall, especially with the two departures we had before the season with Derek Harmon and Simeon Barrow our two defensive tackles I think the run defense has been probably the surprise of the year for us so far we just need to see a big bounce back from what we saw before the bye week because wow that was a step backwards we hope it's an outlier hope all right so iowa recently has won with defense not much offense

and special teams though special teams have been inconsistent in the punting game after tory taylor and what he's done and now okay with the chicago bears fourth round yes uh iowa punter was drafted in the fourth round and i love it yeah you talk to bears fans and they absolutely love him yeah because it's ridiculous. So they brought in another Aussie who had his best game in a Hawkeye uniform this past weekend. Had a 55-yarder, 61-yarder. The 61-yarder, I mean, just oozing Oz at Kinnick Stadium because we've seen a lot. That's amazing.

Yes. And our field goal kicker just missed one. It was a 50-yarder against Ohio State. Outside of that, he's been perfect. He was really good until the end of last season. So special teams have been good. We've got a good returner. So that's how Iowa kind of closes the margin, right?

If you're not going to be elite, that's how they do it. How about you guys? I mean, the Hawkeyes got a chance of busting out a big return here, winning the kicking game. How's it looking special teams-wise? Much cleaner than last year. Oh, my. Trent, I almost went to jail some nights after recording this podcast because

I could not stand our special teams unit or the coach. Oh, I was posting the guy's address on my main account. No, I'm just kidding. It is better. It is marginally better because it couldn't get any worse. But look, Ryan Eckley, one of the best, if not the best, punter in the Big Ten right now. Jonathan Kim,

the guy who I believe has the Kinnick Stadium record for the longest field goal, right? Yes. I got bad news for Iowa fans. He is still around. He is still kicking. He buried a game-winning field goal against Maryland earlier this year. Call him cool, collect, and still is a cannon for a leg.

So special teams are looking pretty good right now for Michigan State, and that's been one of the things I would always bring up if we talk about the Iowa game in the offseason is like, look, this is going to be a race to 20 points. What happens in those games comes down to special teams and who can take care of the ball best. And I feel good about the special teams portion of this. The million-dollar question is the whole turnover thing,

like I've said 15 times. So, yeah. I think we get the narrative on that one. All right, Matt. 100%. So, bowl eligibility. We were joking about this on my radio show today. So, I host a show in Des Moines.

We're at the Crossroads. We have both Iowa and Iowa State. And, well, Iowa State got to 6-0 bowl eligibility. That used to be such a huge deal for them. Because we're talking about one of the most more abundant programs in the country as they were sitting at five wins last week. It didn't get brought up once, which never happens. You guys are in a different boat, though.

You're rebuilding. You're number one of a new staff. Does it feel like this is one at-home night game you've got to put in the win column if you're going to get bowl eligibility? I think so. This is what we kick the week off with is, is this game and or the Michigan game must wins. And I think so too,

because if you let, you know, a five game losing streak slip, well, November, what looks like a cupcake schedule. Now, now you have Illinois who looks solid.

Now you have Indiana who looks really solid Rutgers at the end of the year, strong defense. Can you steal all three of those games with the Purdue game sandwiched in the middle of all that, not to be disrespectful to the boilers, but you need to have that fourth win, I think, as you go into that last month to steal or just to have two wins is all you need to get bowl eligibility, which I need to see, Trent. I haven't gotten a bowl game shirt since 2021.

We made the Peach Bowl. My wardrobe is getting dated here. It can't be like this every year. It can't be like this every year. It won't be like this every year where we're just praying for a bowl game. But in year one of a rebuild with a strong schedule, like today opened up Brett McMurphy's piece of bowl projections, and he had us in the first responders bowl. Nice.

It's like I'll donate a kidney right now just to have that bowl game. Let's go, baby. Let's just play that January 3rd bowl game against Arizona, and let's have ourselves a party and get ourselves a new T-shirt for the old wardrobe. So, no, I do think this is a must-win game. And if not this one, then the one after that against Michigan. All right, so prediction time.

What are we going to see? Give me what you believe this thing's going to be. I can't back down yet, so I'm going to go Michigan State 23, Iowa 21. What an evening this will be. The open bar at this wedding is going to be tested. The limits are going to fall. How about you, Trent? I think we're going to see something goofy, probably a lot of field goals.

I have the Hawkeyes pulling it out. 1917, how about that? You know what? That only makes sense. Just like the odd number. We've seen this too much. I know better than this. Yeah, it's going to be 22-15.

Of course it is. It's going to be a score, Gabi. Trent, this has been a hoot and a half. Love what you do over there at Locked on Hawkeyes. What's up, everyone? Hey, it's Matt over at Locked on Spartans. Come catch us after the game this Saturday. Whoever wins, whoever loses, guess what?

Both shows are going to be happening. So, folks, thank you very much for listening to Locked on Spartans, Locked on Hawkeyes, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Go enjoy the rest of your week.