Michigan State Football: 5 overreactions from victory over Rutgers

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PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 25: Johnathan Lewis #11 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights looks to pass against the Michigan State Spartans during their game on November 25, 2017 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

2. The pass rush was disappointing

After finishing with just two sacks against Rutgers, some would be inclined to jump on the Spartans for not taking advantage against the Scarlet Knights who were one of the worst teams in the conference for the majority of the season.

If you look closely at the numbers from aspects of the argument, though, you’d realize this was a strong year for the Michigan State pass rush. For one, Kenny Willekes, a former walk-on, led the Big Ten in solo sacks heading into the season finale and two, the Spartans now rank 36th in college football in terms of sacks accumulated.

Looking at actual numbers, Michigan State finished with just 11 sacks all of last season and had 28 this regular season with a chance to hit 30 in the bowl game. Essentially tripling the number of sacks from last year with a much younger defensive line? Now that’s impressive.

Moreover, Rutgers’ offensive line has been surprisingly solid this year, ranking 33rd in the nation in terms of sacks allowed with just 18 total. Michigan State recorded two, which is slightly above the average amount the Scarlet Knights allow per game.

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