MSU Blows Fourth-Quarter Lead to Iowa in Eighth Straight Loss
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In one of the most miserable seasons in Michigan State history, this might be No. 1 on the misery index.
MSU entered the fourth quarter up 17-7, but was outscored 13-0 across the final 15 minutes, with a 44-yard field goal sailing through as time expired. What makes it worse is that the Spartans were driving towards the end of the game, but officials failed to throw a flag on a fairly obvious defensive hold or a pass interference that would have given Michigan State a first down in Iowa territory with less than a minute to go.
MSU falls to 3-8 overall and 0-8 against the Big Ten on the season with this heartbreaker. Iowa improves to 7-4 and 5-3, respectively.
The Spartans will finish off the 2025 season against Maryland at Ford Field in Detroit on Nov. 29 (7 p.m. ET, FS1).
First Half
Iowa elected to receive after winning the coin toss, but MSU's defense got off the field quickly after only allowing one first down. Hawkeye quarterback Mark Gronowski went 0-for-3 through the air on the drive, and none of the three passes were particularly close.
A short punt gave the Spartans and quarterback Alessio Milivojevic some good field position, but the drive stalled out at Iowa's 45, where MSU punted it away on fourth-and-5. Ryan Eckley booted a nice one, but a lot of the credit goes to Keshawn Williams for stopping the ball at the 1-yard line.
After the Spartan defense forced another punt after Ru'Quan Buckley picked up a third-down sack, MSU narrowly avoided disaster. Wide receiver Nick Marsh fumbled while extending for additional yards, and Iowa initially brought it back for a touchdown. A lengthy replay review determined that Marsh had ever-so-slightly touched the ball while being out of bounds, which kept the ball with Michigan State.
It couldn't do anything with that second chance. Milivojevic was then sacked for an 11-yard loss on second-and-1, which was shortly followed by a punt that Iowa's Kaden Wetjen returned 45 yards to MSU's 44-yard line. The Hawkeyes dialed up a deep ball, which wasn't close from Gronowski either, as safety Malik Spencer picked it off at the 6-yard line for MSU's first interception since Oct. 4 against Nebraska.
MSU's offense was quickly off the field again, with Marsh having a rare drop on a pass that was in his chest on third-and-2. Inexplicably, the Spartans give Wetjen another chance to return a punt.
This time, he evaded several tacklers and brought it all the way back for a touchdown from 62 yards out, giving Iowa a 7-0 lead before it had even completed a pass.
KADEN WETJEN TO THE HOUSE! @HawkeyeFootball
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 22, 2025
📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/aNmIzVtdO1
The low-scoring slog continued for a bit following that, but the Spartans finally put together their first drive into field-goal range towards the end of the second quarter.
Several key plays during the drive went from Milivojevic to tight ends Jack Velling or Michael Masunas, getting MSU into a goal-to-go situation from the five. With the endzone in sight, the sequence was: throwaway, run for a loss, throwaway. Michigan State settled for a 27-yard Martin Connington field goal instead.
Michigan State also got away with some questionable decisions from Jonathan Smith at the end of the half. He called timeout with 12 seconds left and fourth-and-3 from MSU's 49-yard line. The Spartans called a screen pass, but that was snuffed out and intercepted.
Iowa basically had one play to reach field-goal range, which it did against the soft coverage. Hawkeye kicker Drew Stevens missed a 53-yard field goal as time expired to avoid any damage in what would've been one of the more disastrous sequences of Smith's tenure.
Second Half
The first big play of the second half went the Spartans' way. On a third down, defensive lineman Quindarius Dunnigan poked the ball out of Gronowski's right hand as he tried a shovel pass, and linebacker Jordan Hall fell on it.
On the second play of the ensuing drive, Michigan State dialed up the deep ball. Marsh and Chrishon McCray's routes caused some confusion in the Iowa secondary, and Milivojevic found McCray for a 45-yard touchdown and a 10-7 lead. Marsh ran a post, while McCray acted like he was running a corner route before going up the sideline.
The Spartans take the lead in Iowa City! 💪@MSU_Football pic.twitter.com/9DdGUHFE4E
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 22, 2025
After another stop by the Spartan defense, MSU's offense put together another drive. To be frank, Michigan State caught a break when what was perhaps a false start on Caleb Carter was called a delay of game on Iowa for an "abrupt movement" on the defensive line while it was third-and-1. Brandon Tullis then broke a 35-yard run to give the Spartans goal-to-go.
Iowa blitzed on third-and-goal, but MSU had a 1-on-1 matchup near the sideline. Milivojevic delivered a perfect back-shoulder ball to McCray for his second touchdown of the third quarter. That gave Michigan State a promising 17-7 lead, the first instance it had a two-score lead against a Big Ten opponent. That score held into the fourth quarter.
TOUCHDOWN MICHIGAN STATE! 💪@MSU_Football extends its lead on the road pic.twitter.com/kY2OGGj2tf
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 22, 2025
Iowa's offense woke up early in the fourth. Gronowski started delivering downfield for the first time all day, and the Hawkeyes reached the red zone for the first time all game with about 13 minutes to go. Michigan State's defense bowed up and forced Iowa to take the points. That trimmed the Spartans' lead to 17-10 with 11:27 remaining.
Danger started to set in a bit when MSU went three-and-out, which gave Iowa the ball back in a one-score game. The Hawkeyes then went three-and-out, but Michigan State did it again, too.
Eckley then made an extremely rare mistake, shanking his kick off the right side of his foot. It was just an 11-yard punt and gave Iowa the ball at MSU's 46 with a little more than seven minutes to go.
Even with more chips stacked against them, the Spartans' defense kept getting stop after stop. On fourth-and-11 from their 33, the coverage was great, and Gronowski's pass was incomplete without hitting any receiver in the hands. Malcolm Bell had a big sack one play beforehand on a corner blitz, too.
MSU's offense couldn't bleed much off the clock, though. It only ran three plays before punting, which only took 1:08 off the clock. Then, the Spartans gave Wetjen a chance to return it again, and he ran it 40 yards into Michigan State territory. Iowa got it into the red zone shortly after that, into the two-minute timeout.
MSU's defense had bailed out the offense and special teams a few times beforehand, but this was one time too many. Gronowski made a nice throw to Jacob Gill for a touchdown with 1:29 to go, which tied the game.
That gave the Spartans time to muster a response, though. On a third-and-2, McCray was pretty obviously held on a target, but the referee was so close to the play that he dove to the ground and missed it. MSU pooch punted it away as a result, rather than going for it from its own 45, when it should have had a first down.
At the worst time, Michigan State's defense caved in again. Gronowski had completions of 19 and 29 yards to get the Hawkeyes into field-goal range, which set up Stevens for the 44-yard, walk-off winner.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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