Stanzi struggles, until No. 7 Iowa needs him most

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Almost the only pretty thing Ricky Stanzi produced against Michigan State was that perfect touchdown pass with no time left on the clock.

The stats sure were ugly.

Especially, in the first half, when Iowa's quarterback was just 3 of 7 for 35 yards and got sacked twice.

But that 7-yard pass to Marvin McNutt that gave the No. 7 Hawkeyes a 15-13 victory on Saturday couldn't have looked better for the Hawkeyes - who are 8-0 for the first time in school history.

"They believed they were going to go out and score," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "I think the guys have the confidence, and it starts with our quarterback. It wasn't going easy for him tonight. But boy, what a beautiful drive. And that's all that counts."

Iowa came back after Michigan State (4-4, 3-2) rallied to take a 13-9 with 1:39 to play on Kirk Cousins' touchdown pass to Blair White.

Stanzi opened the drive with a 16-yard pass to McNutt, moving the Hawkeyes near midfield. Stanzi's 21-yard strike to Trey Stross put Iowa at the Michigan State 31.

A 16-yard pass to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos moved Iowa to the 15. Then came the most pivotal play of the drive.

Stanzi appeared to have been intercepted by Michigan State's Chris L. Rucker. But officials ruled that Rucker held Johnson-Koulianos before the interception. The penalty set up Iowa with a 1st-and-goal at the 7 with 15 seconds left.

Stanzi fired three straight incompletions. But after a timeout with 2 seconds remaining, Stanzi regrouped on Iowa's last chance to find McNutt on a slant pattern.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound McNutt gained inside position and then used his superior size to shield Rucker from the ball.

"We knew we had a chance," Stanzi said of the drive. "We were able to convert some big plays. We knew we had to execute that first play and then after that just take it play by play, and just don't worry too far down the road. If you could get that first play and keep the chains moving that was the biggest key."

Stanzi finished 11 of 27 for 138 yards Saturday. He has completed 57 percent of his passes this season for 1,715 yards, 12 TDs and eight interceptions. His pass efficiency rating is eighth in the conference.

But his team is first.

Stanzi's best half of the season came last week at Wisconsin, where he helped overcome a 7-point lead by completing 11 of 13 attempts for 162 yards in the second half.

Cousins and backup, Keith Nichol, both have better ratings than Stanzi. But the Spartans are just .500 after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped.

Michigan State fans were unhappy with the officials for a couple of the penalties called against the Spartans late in Saturday's game. A personal foul call on a tackle by defensive back Jeremy Ware helped set up an Iowa field goal in the fourth quarter. The holding call on Rucker also drew boos.

But the Spartans weren't making excuses after Iowa's game-winning drive.

"We've just got to keep playing," said Michigan St. linebacker Greg Jones, who finished with a game-high 12 tackles. "They're going to make calls. we've got to keep playing football."

Michigan State had 310 yards of offense and showed poise to rally late against the Hawkeyes, including a lateral following a catch to keep its final drive alive. But the Spartans missed some touchdown opportunities earlier when the Iowa defense buckled down in the red zone.

"We've just got to get more points on the board," White said.