Harlon Barnett explains why loss to Iowa is more difficult than past losses

Michigan State put up their best performance yet since the fallout of the Mel Tucker incident against Iowa this weekend. It wasn’t enough, though, as the Hawkeyes closed on a 16-0 run to win 26-16 inside Kinnick Stadium.

Still, Harlon Barnett knew that the Spartans had almost nothing to be ashamed of. As he said postgame on Saturday, they actually found themselves in a lead and gave a quality crack at it before ultimately coming up short in the fourth quarter.

“This is the first game since I’ve been in this position where we were leading in a game. And it felt good. We were playing well. Just couldn’t finish it at the end,” said Barnett. ‘We have to be able to do that to win football games here in the Big Ten. We know that.”

“Like I said, applaud the effort. The effort was outstanding,” said Barnett. “Just have to play smarter, more disciplined football.”

In his first two games as the interim, Barnett and Michigan State lost to No. 8 Washington and Maryland by a combined score of 72-16.

However, with a 58-yard field goal to end the first half and a touchdown to open the second, the Spartans took a 16-10 lead over the Hawkeyes in the third quarter.

That was before Iowa closed on that run with three field goals and a 70-yard punt return score from Cooper DeJean to seal it by the end of the fourth quarter.

The final outcome did not go in Michigan State’s favor for the third straight game. Still, considering the battle that they gave against a conference foe on the road, Barnett is excited about what this could turn into once they come back off their bye week.

“They’re dejected. Like, we all are. But these guys got a fight in them,” said Barnett. “I love it – a true Spartan fight in them, a Spartan dog fight. That’s why I love them so much.”

“They need this little time off that we’re going to have and we should come back even stronger,” Barnett said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Barnett reveals Michigan State will evaluate QB during bye week

Harlon Barnett might have a decision to make during the team’s upcoming bye week at the quarterback position. Current starter Noah Kim has struggled throughout the season, and put up another forgettable performance on Saturday versus Iowa.

Kim completed 25 of 44 passes for just 193 yards with three interceptions. He now has six interceptions to just six touchdowns on the season.

Barnett was asked after the game about how will he evaluate the performance and whether he might consider making a change. He said he, OC Jay Johnson, and the offensive staff would have a discussion about it before making any changes.

“We have to watch the film very closely,” Barnett said. “We got two weeks —that’s a good thing…We’ll all talk it through and see if there’s something that needs to be done or not and evaluate it. Being very, very realistic in (the) evaluation and then being very fair at the same time. Like with all of our guys, everybody’s always being evaluated and there’s always competition going on. It’s no different from any other position.”