No LJ Scott? No problem. The junior running back didn’t get an opportunity to play in this one because Mark Dantonio said he was nicked up and didn’t want to take the risk. That put to rest any speculation that he was in the doghouse, but the Spartans didn’t need him on Saturday.
Although the running backs didn’t exactly excel, they got enough of the job done. Madre London was the star in the backfield even though Gerald Holmes got the start. He rushed for 59 yards on 10 carries, including a big 50-yarder. He also caught two passes for 19 yards and one resulted in a touchdown on a perfectly-executed screen in the first half.
Holmes had just 27 yards on 11 carries and struggled to really get anything going between the tackles all game long. That was partially due to the play-calling, as mentioned earlier, but Michigan’s defensive line clogged running lanes all night.
The Spartans did average 4.0 yards per carry but it may have been even uglier of a performance if it weren’t for the long run by London. Once again, Brian Lewerke led the team in rushing.