In an afternoon where Iowa moved the ball almost at will, Michigan State could have used Antjuan Simmons in a 49-7 loss. Instead, the team’s star linebacker and one of their captains was on the sidelines for large portions of the game.

It turns out that an undisclosed injury prevented Simmons from playing most of the game. Despite starting, Simmons was limited following what appears to have been a first half injury.

The injury, let alone the extent, is unknown. But the loss of Simmons was felt as Iowa put up 405 yards of total offense and won the time of possession.

“I just couldn’t go out there and be as productive as I have been in the past,” Simmons said after the game according to MLive. “That’s no excuse. When I was out there, I played hard.”

Simmons finished with four tackles despite missing much of the game with the mystery injury. He was a major factor in last week’s upset of Michigan with 11 tackles.

His impact as both a vocal leader but also an impact player is clear. Despite missing much of the Iowa game, Simmons still leads Michigan State with 26 tackles on the year.

Five of Iowa’s seven touchdown drives on the afternoon were greater than 45 yards, underscoring the difficulty that Michigan State had in stopping the Hawkeyes.

With the loss, Michigan State is now 1-2.