EAST LANSING — Nikai Martinez understood what he’d see Saturday from Iowa, even before the opening kickoff.

“We knew they were gonna run the ball," Michigan State football’s junior safety said afterward. "They knew we were gonna run the ball. It was gonna be a bloodbath.”

He felt the Spartans “were gonna come out on top.” Unequivocally.

Yet could he have predicted this?

A defensive gem, holding the nation’s second-leading rusher to one big touchdown run that accounted for almost all of his 98 yards and more than half of the Hawkeyes’ 133 on the ground?

An offense producing impressive drives, stalling deep in enemy territory, before Aidan Chiles and Co. started to hum at a level unseen so far this season? And against an Iowa defense known for doing to opponents what MSU’s defense did on the other side?

A school record six field goals from Jonathan Kim? A game without an MSU punt for the first time since 1989?

A 32-20 homecoming victory to end a three-game losing streak? Showing exactly what the Spartans said during their bye week that they felt they could become?

Yep, Martinez said, everything went according to plan.

“We knew coming in what we were gonna do,” he said. “We're not shocked about what happened tonight, if that makes sense.”

It made sense to his teammates. Plenty.

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Michigan State defense stands up

The defense held the Hawkeyes to just 283 total yards and 12 first downs the entire game. MSU gave up only two of those first downs in the first half, limiting Iowa to just four three-play drives in its first five possessions.

“We expect that as a defense,” linebacker Jordan Turner said.

Said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz: “In a nutshell, we did not play well offensively in the first half. We really could not sustain much and get much going.”

Multiple defenders from all three levels smothered Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson all night, including one third-quarter run when Turner, Cal Haladay, Khris Bogle and Jalen Thompson surrounded the midseason All-American on his north, east, south and west sides for a 4-yard loss. The Big Ten’s leading rusher averaging 156.2 yards rushing entering Saturday’s games, Johnson scored a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that pulled Iowa within 25-20. On his other 13 carries, he had 23 yards.

“Our coach, (defensive coordinator Joe) Rossi, he always tells us we gotta be the best response team ever,” Turner said. “So that's what we strive to do. When stuff doesn't go our way, we gotta respond the next drive.”

Michigan State pass game delivers big plays

The growing confidence of Chiles in the passing game showed even after throwing his ninth interception of the season, and true freshman Nick Marsh and fifth-year senior Montorie Foster Jr. made more big plays down the field.

Chiles threw a tight spiral to Foster for an 18-yard touchdown pass on a sweet corner route in the third quarter, then hit his standout freshman Marsh three times on the Spartans’ final scoring possession.

Both touchdown drives came immediately after Iowa touchdowns.

“We want to drive the ball. We want to score every time we touch the ball,” said Chiles, who went 22-for-30 for 256 yards passing and also ran for 51 yards, including an electrifying escape for 26 yards to convert on third down to set up the Foster score. “Going in, it was just about keeping your composure and doing what you know what to do. Just go out there and play football how you know how to play football.”

Foster finished with a career high 100 yards on five catches, and Marsh had 113 yards on eight catches. It was the first time MSU had two 100-yard receivers in the same game since Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor did it against Western Kentucky in 2021.

Michigan State run game sets tone

The previously nonexistent run game saw Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams slipping through and spinning out of tackles, and Nate Carter pounding through the line for a 1-yard insurance score late. The offensive line finally delivered creases for the running backs to slither into the second level of the defense. MSU ran for a season-high 212 yards as part of its balanced 468-yard showing with 27 first downs and a decided 39:44 of possession time to Iowa’s 20:16.

“I think this is one of the best games we've had yet as a unit. … Every week, we're getting closer and closer to perfecting our craft and just executing certain plays,” said Marsh, who produced his second 100-yard receiving game of his debut season. “I think we're getting very close to where we want to be.”

Jonathan Kim is HIM

And when the offense failed to reach the end zone early, Kim bailed them out with points to give the defense a cushion with which to operate in attack mode. The sixth-year senior scored all of MSU’s points during a first-half defensive shutout with field goals of 42, 43, 36 and 29 yards.

He missed a 55-yarder wide left at the horn as the Spartans went into the locker room leading 12-0, but delivered from 55 yards early in the fourth quarter, and broke the previous school record of five with a 46-yarder a little more than four minutes later, after Martinez picked off quarterback Cade McNamara.

Kim’s six field goals, one more than previously record-holders Paul Edinger and John Langeloh, also tied Michigan’s Jake Moody for the most in a modern Big Ten game.

“It's funny, because me and (defensive back) Caleb Coley were in the locker room singing, ‘The Lord Will Provide’ before we ran out,” Kim said of his pregame routine. “And He really did. Being able to get that many kicks is a blessing.”

Kim kicked the momentum into overdrive for MSU (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) heading into this Saturday’s game at Michigan for another 7:30 p.m. kick (BTN). Meanwhile, the Wolverines (4-3, 2-2) dropped a 21-7 road game at No. 21 Illinois, their second straight loss.

THE GAME: Michigan vs. Michigan State prediction, odds in Week 9

It will be the first time U-M faces MSU coming off a loss since 2008, and the first time since 2005 when the Spartans won their previous game and the Wolverines lost theirs. It also will be the first time since 1995 — Nick Saban and Lloyd Carr — that both teams have first-year coaches, with Jonathan Smith trying to revive a downtrodden MSU after Mel Tucker’s firing and Sherrone Moore struggling after last year’s U-M national title.

Though Smith has yet to experience the vitriol of the rivalry, he does understand how intense it can get from his time as a player and head coach at Oregon State facing the Oregon Ducks.

That clock started ticking Sunday. But Smith does not plan to deviate from the course he has taken all season, starting with making further corrections and tweaks as he and his staff did during the bye week that produced a dramatic turnaround against Iowa.

“We'll flip the page pretty quickly for next week,” Smith said. “One of the best things about college football is playing in rivalry games. And this game means a ton.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football: Everything went according to plan vs Iowa