Michigan State Football: Report card for Week 4 win at Indiana

With a Week 4 win at Indiana in the books, it’s Michigan State football report card time. Which position group graded the highest?

If you were uneasy heading into Saturday night’s road game against Indiana, you surely weren’t alone. Michigan State was an upset special pick by many national pundits, but the Spartans were able to come away with a 14-point win, covering the spread, and then some.

Indiana isn’t a bad team, but Michigan State controlled the game from start to finish, holding a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and essentially maintaining a double-digit advantage throughout the game.

Tom Allen has Indiana headed in the right direction, but Michigan State beat the Hoosiers yet again to retain the Old Brass Spittoon.

Michigan State came away with a comfortable, for the most part, win, but how do the Spartans grade out?

Anyone who has tuned into a Michigan State game this season would be able to see this with their own eyes within minutes. The offensive line just hasn’t been good enough.

So what’s the issue? Every starter is back besides Brian Allen, but the Spartans seem to be regressing as a unit. There were no open holes in the run game and the only reason this group surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark was because of a 75-yard rush by Jalen Nailor in the fourth quarter on an end-around — it was the best blocking of the game.

As for pass blocking, the line got better as the game went along, but it was ugly early on. Brian Lewerke was sacked three times and didn’t have time to even think when he got the snap, but the big uglies were able to buckle down and keep him upright for most of the second half — though passing wasn’t as much of an option late with a lead.

This group needs Cole Chewins back for a full week and maybe things will be back to normal. There might need to be changes in order to get the run game going, though.