Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Week 13 victory over Rutgers

Michigan State football took care of business against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday evening and here’s what we learned.

A complete reversal of records took place on Saturday night as Michigan State football was able to come away with a win over Rutgers to close out the regular season. With the win, the Spartans improved to 9-3 after going just 3-9 the year before.

Michigan State still has a bowl game to play, but we learned plenty about this team after a 40-7 blowout win on the road against the Scarlet Knights. Over the past two seasons, Michigan State has out-scored the Scarlet Knights 89-7. That’s what you call complete dominance.

What’d we learn from the Spartans’ victory over Rutgers in Week 13?

5. Matt Coghlin has been sneaky good this year

Believe it or not, Matt Coghlin had a solid season, yet no one talks about the freshman kicker’s growth. He struggled at times, including the Northwestern game in which he missed two crucial field goals, but he has been as solid as they come lately.

Mark Dantonio knew he’d have a tough time replacing Michael Geiger, although he tailed off at the end of his career, but Coghlin has filled in quite nicely.

After not attempting a single field goal in his first two carer games, Coghlin made six of his first eight tries before missing two against Northwestern. That game seemed to motivate him to improve and he has since made 8-of-8. Moreover, he’s 32-of-32 on extra point tries this season.

It may not seem like a huge deal, but having a dependable kicker can work wonders down the line.