Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from win over Indiana in Week 8

3. Brian Lewerke needs to settle his brain down

With the game on the line and nothing on his mind but “get the win”, Brian Lewerke excelled. He made big plays with his arm, hitting Felton Davis III in the end zone for the go-ahead score and later on the next MSU drive, he found Cody White for 34 yards on a third-and-long situation to essentially put the game away for good.

See, Lewerke plays well when he’s not overthinking everything. It’s when he decides to over-analyze every decision that he struggles.

There were times when it was clear he was uncomfortable in the pocket. He thinks too much about the incoming rush and that forces his brain to move 100 miles an hour and he gets happy feet. If he decides to run, that shows he’s confident he can pick up some yardage with his legs, but if he’s passing with happy feet, it’s usually a tense throw.

The best example had to be late in the third quarter when Lewerke was facing a third-down situation and rolled to his left only to find a wide open Matt Sokol beyond the first-down markers. He fired the ball right into the ground on a throw he would usually make 10 out of 10 times.

When Lewerke just plays instead of over-thinking, he excels. It’s time to get this young quarterback some confidence.