Michigan State Football: Report card for loss to Northwestern in Week 9
![EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 28: Cody White #7 of the Michigan State Spartans fumbles the ball as he's hit by Montre Hartage #24 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 28: Cody White #7 of the Michigan State Spartans fumbles the ball as he's hit by Montre Hartage #24 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bc3c45d9c1361ba47b5787e20d6550fc951c9d5fe6c873214eb1a1cde7d92206.jpg)
Michigan State. BRIAN LEWERKE. A-. . QB
What a game Brian Lewerke had on Saturday. The sophomore dual-threat not only had his best career game, but the best game of any Michigan State quarterback in school history. In fact, he passed for 445 yards and rushed for another 30, which broke school records for passing yards and total yards in a game.
Lewerke doesn’t get an A for his performance for a couple of reasons. One, he overthrew too many receivers throughout the game on wide open deep balls and, two, he made a poor decision in triple-overtime after picking up his own fumble, throwing into double coverage in the end zone and it was picked off to end the game.
There were times throughout the game he threw into double and triple coverage, which needs to be worked on in film session. He needs to be able to look off safeties or just be able to read where there are and where they will be when he throws a ball over the middle. Too often he nearly threw a crucial pick because of that.
Other than a few miscues, he played great. He kept Michigan State in the game with his accurate short and intermediate throws and made some highlight plays with his legs and scrambling to throw — including a bomb to Cody White in the fourth quarter.
It seems like Lewerke is coming into his own.