Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Week 7 win over Minnesota

4. Coaching staff needs to help Brian Lewerke gain confidence

If one thing was evident from Brian Lewerke’s performance on Saturday night, it was that he needed help from the coaching staff. The game started in a downpour, giving Michigan State flashbacks of the end of the Michigan game, and the ball slipped out of the quarterback’s hands a couple of times.

However, that wasn’t the issue. He was given just 18 opportunities to throw the ball all night long, even when conditions dried up in the second quarter and second half. For a quarterback who struggled through the air against Michigan and didn’t have his best stuff to begin the Minnesota game, attempting to improve his confidence should have been key.

Big Ten play is only going to require Lewerke to become a better passer so teams don’t stack the box and blow up the Spartans’ run game.

Lewerke has the arm to be a special quarterback, but with only a limited amount of opportunities, he can’t gain much traction and head into the heart of conference action as a confident passer. The staff should have given him more shots to prove himself with his arm.