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

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 25: Antjuan Simmons #34 of the Michigan State Spartans grabs Jawuan Harris #3 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during their game on November 25, 2017 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

4. Defense can still be dominant

I know what you’re thinking: any defense can look dominant against Rutgers. While this is somewhat true, the Spartans’ defense completely took over the game and made the Scarlet Knights look silly.

In fact, Rutgers was 0-for-7 on third downs and finished with just 112 total yards — 14 of those came via the run. The Scarlet Knights were completely out-matched and this was the toughest time they’ve had all season long moving the ball against an opponent.

They struggled against Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan, but had 200 yards against the Nittany Lions, 209 against the Buckeyes and 195 against the Wolverines. Michigan State can still feature a dominant defense and outside of a 42-yard touchdown pass, the Scarlet Knights couldn’t do much of anything.

Rutgers had just five first downs all game long and they weren’t able to hold onto the ball for too long — just 12:10 of possession time. Michigan State had struggled on defense in recent weeks, but this was a good way to end the year.

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