Michigan State Football: Report card against Indiana

Oct 24, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) scores a touchdown against Indiana Hoosiers linebacker Clyde Newton (41) during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs: C

The running game was average, at best, on Saturday. With Cook doing whatever he wanted through the air, the ground game took a back seat. At the end of the game, they were able to come in and act as the closer, running the clock out and scoring two touchdowns to truly put the game away.

The leading rusher on the day was LJ Scott with 68 yards and a touchdown with Gerald Holmes throwing in 39 yards and a touchdown of his own.

The stats looked much more impressive at the end of the game because of the closing runs — Jeremy Langford style — but in reality, there were nothing more than one or two-yard runs all day with the long run being about four yards going into the fourth quarter.

I’m sure the Mark Dantonio would like more balance and does not want to throw the ball 52 times but when you have a quarterback and passing game as hot as yesterday you lean heavily on that, especially when the other team is scoring at will.

The Spartans will need the running game to get back on track. Hopefully with a bye week the offensive line will be as healthy as it was at the beginning of the season which will go a long way.

Next: Wide Recievers