Michigan State Football: Report card for win over Indiana in Week 8

I couldn’t go higher than a C+ here, but LJ Scott almost made it a B- just by the way he consistently ran the ball even with no lanes in sight. Not that he had a choice, but he stuck to the run all game long and didn’t get too frustrated when the lanes closed up before he got to the line.

If this grade were just for Scott, I’d say he earned a B/B- for his efforts, but a lot had to do with the line play and the play-calling. Can’t keep running between the tackles 2-3 times every four downs because defenses know what’s coming. Last week against Minnesota, Dave Warner called a great game, for the most part, mixing in pitches to the longer side of the field.

Those pitches allowed Madre London and Scott to wait for an opening and explode through. It gave them some extra time to decipher where the lanes would be. There was very little of that on Saturday and the pitches that were executed were to the short side of the field, for some reason.

Scott finished the day with 87 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and two receptions for 15 yards. He’s gaining some steam as the season wears on.

London, on the other hand, had a rough day on the ground, rushing just six times for 13 yards. He did, however, catch a 14-yard pass and made a nifty spin move to pick up a first down. No Gerald Holmes again, though.