Michigan State Football: Report card for first half of 2017 season

After six games, Michigan State football has already exceeded preseason expectations. How do the Spartans grade out, by position?

We are six games into the season and don’t look now, but Michigan State football is 5-1 and just a single victory away from bowl eligibility. Who could have seen this happening before the season began? If you asked the players, they’d tell you they expected to be 6-0 at this point.

Yes, the confidence is back with this team and the swagger, too. The Spartans seem to be playing like the teams of old that had the toughness and grit that earned 10-win seasons. This clearly isn’t the same team that went 3-9 last year and fell short of just about every expectation.

How have the Spartans fared by position, though? Some groups have far exceeded expectations while others have floated around mediocrity. There have been both positives and negatives from each week, but the first half of the season as a whole has been more of the former.

Take a look at the Spartans’ report card for the first half of the 2017 season, by position.

As a whole, the offensive line has underachieved. Lately, though, the group has seemed to come together, raising the overall grade to a B- instead of somewhere in the C-range.

When the season began, the Spartans knew they’d have a young offensive line and it would probably take some time to gel. That was the case as Brian Lewerke was seemingly under pressure more often than not, forcing him to scramble and pick up yards with his legs rather than his arm. In recent weeks, that has changed.

In fact, Lewerke has been sacked just six times this season and zero in the past two weeks combined. The line held its own against Michigan which is arguably the best defensive line in college football. Brian Allen, Luke Campbell, Cole Chewins and Tyler Higby are each growing stronger as starters while David Beedle, Jordan Reid and Kevin Jarvis are adding to a rotation at guard.

The run game is also picking up as it averages just under 200 yards per game, but picked up nearly 300 vs. Minnesota — 194 behind LJ Scott. Holes were finally there consistently against the Golden Gophers and that needs to continue moving forward.