IOWA CITY, Iowa – It wasn’t the homecoming Rocky Lombardi dreamed about. And it wasn’t the way Mel Tucker imagined Michigan State football would come off an emotion-fueled rivalry win.
As good as the Spartans were at Michigan a week earlier, they regressed significantly Saturday at Iowa. The Hawkeyes pounded MSU early, then took advantage of mistakes to jump out to a 35-point halftime lead and cruise to a 49-7 victory at Kinnick Stadium.
MSU’s 35-0 halftime hole was its worst since going down 48-0 against Penn State on Nov. 23, 2002. The defeat was the biggest since losing 48-3 at Ohio State on Nov.