Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Spartans can still win Big Ten title

By Connor Muldowney

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball past John Reid #29 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - NOVEMBER 26: LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball past John Reid #29 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter on November 26, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 14: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the third quarter of the game on October 14, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Spartans defeated the Gophers 30-27. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 14: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans carries the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the third quarter of the game on October 14, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Spartans defeated the Gophers 30-27. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. Brian Lewerke is getting better by the week

There were plenty of haters around Saturday night to knock the play of Brian Lewerke following the loss to Northwestern, but the fact of the matter is that he played the best game of his young career. In fact, Lewerke passed for a school-record 445 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for another 30 to lead the team.

Sure, he made one of the worst decisions of his career in the third overtime when he picked up his own fumble, scrambled to his left and threw across his body to the end zone in double coverage. He was obviously picked off to end the game, but he was trying to be a hero — like he had been in the fourth quarter and overtime to that point.

Lewerke played great and that’s something fans loved to see. He finally took over a game with his arm, which has been a long time coming. He’s developing into a solid passer at the right time and is only going to continue to improve.

Remember, this is the time in the careers of Connor Cook and Kirk Cousins that they really started to take off and become elite passers. Also, we can’t forget that they, too, made silly mistakes in their first years at quarterback.

With Lewerke improving, this offense could finally take off.

Home/Spartans Football