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Michigan State Football: Should LJ Scott’s fumbles cost him carries?

By Connor Muldowney

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball past John Reid #29 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball past John Reid #29 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football had a tough go of things on the ground Saturday, especially because of LJ Scott’s fumble trouble.

The strength of Michigan State’s offense on Saturday was tough to gauge on Saturday against Bowling Green. Early on, it seemed like the run game was taking center stage and late it was Brian Lewerke’s dual-threat ability.

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The sophomore quarterback passed for 250 yards and rushed for another 69, passing for three scores. He looked like the confident leader everyone was hoping for — granted, it was against Bowling Green.

Michigan State had multiple opportunities to extend its lead, but turnovers cost the Spartans. More specifically, LJ Scott’s turnovers were detrimental to a couple of drives. One of those turnovers was at the one-yard line with Michigan State about to score and the other turned into a fumble return for a touchdown.

Should those cost him carries this year?

Scott finished the game with just 39 yards on 15 carries. He was outperformed by Gerald Holmes and Madre London, but he has been dubbed the team’s top running back all offseason. He has had turnover issues before (against Wisconsin last year) and this time it could cost him even more.

Against Western Michigan next week, Scott should see his carries reduced because of the fumbles, but it should be a one-game punishment. If he can prove himself reliable in the following game against Notre Dame, he should get his full amount of carries back.

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Listen, turnovers happen all the time. Sometimes it’s a fluke like a helmet knocking the football out so it can’t always he harshly punished. The second fumble by Scott was arguably after he was down, but the referees upheld it. He should see his carries reduced for just a game, but not punished extensively.

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