Michigan State vs Nebraska: Report card for the Spartans

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

Running Backs: B-

There may be no position group more confusing for Michigan State than the running backs. Outside of Gerald Holmes, there were very few carries to be had.

In fact, the team’s leading rusher, L.J. Scott, had just three carries for five yards while Delton Williams had one carry for one yard. Madre London was available, if needed, but he sat out for the entirety of this one and the the running backs not named Gerald Holmes had a total of four carries — quite the shock.

However, Holmes did a solid job overall, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries — his final numbers were helped out by an early 43-yard scamper that should have set up a touchdown on the Spartans’ first drive, but they came up empty.

So if Holmes played so well, why am I giving this group a ‘B-‘?

Well, consistency is key. When these guys can’t gain any ground between the tackles — partially the offensive line and play-calling’s fault — it becomes an issue. Multiple times, it seemed like Scott and Holmes were dancing around instead of hitting the holes hard — Williams was guilty of this on his one carry as well as the Spartans needed two yards for a first, but he gained just one.

Finishing with just 143 total rushing yards as a team would have been laughable a year ago, but this season has been a disappointment in this area so far.

When a receiver, R.J. Shelton, and the quarterback, Cook, rank second and third on the team in rushing, respectively, for an entire game, then there are some problems.

Could there be some lingering injury issues for Scott?

Next: Wide Receivers