Hawkeyes take on Spartans in Kinnick finale for '25

By DANA BECKER

dbecker@messengernews.net

IOWA CITY — Ahead of a meeting with Nebraska on Black Friday, the Iowa football team returns home to host Michigan State on Saturday.

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. with the game airing live on FS1.

The Hawkeyes (6-4 overall, 4-3 in the Big Ten Conference) have dropped two in a row after winning three straight, with those two losses coming by a combined seven points after a 26-21 setback at USC last weekend.

Mark Gronowski threw for 132 yards and Kamari Mouton ran for 90, marking the sixth time in seven games he has been the leading rusher for Iowa.

An early 14-0 lead turned into a 21-7 advantage for the Hawkeyes vs. the Trojans, but USC scored 19 unanswered, including the game-winner early in the fourth.

Kirk Ferentz said Iowa is battling the injury bug, but “nobody’s really ruled out 100 percent,” for this week.

“We’ve got a handful of guys right now that we’ll see how the week goes,” he said. “Hopefully, they can progress so we’re not too depleted.”

Gronowski has 1,216 yards passing and 370 yards rushing, throwing six touchdowns and running in 13 more. Moulton is the leading rusher with 612 yards and two scores.

Michigan State (3-7, 0-7) has dropped seven a in a row since entering Big Ten play. They opened the year with consecutive wins over Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State.

Alessio Milivojevic has started each of the past two games at quarterback, as he has thrown for 720 yards and four touchdowns this year. Makhi Frazier leads the Spartans with 520 yards on the ground, and Nick Marsh has 48 receptions for 559 yards and five scores.

“Like any Michigan State team, seems like they have talented players,” Ferentz said. “They have a mix of young and old a little bit, probably playing a few younger guys more than they like, but they have talented football players.

“They’re very capable.”