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Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from win over Central Michigan in Week 5

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 29: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a first half touchdwon while playing the Central Michigan Chippewas at Spartan Stadium on September 29, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 29: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates a first half touchdwon while playing the Central Michigan Chippewas at Spartan Stadium on September 29, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football took care of business, for the most part, against Central Michigan on Saturday. What did we learn from the Spartans’ win?

Winning doesn’t come easy anymore for the green and white and Saturday was a true indicator of that. Coming with the territory of being a Big Ten contender, teams will give Michigan State their best shots on a weekly basis, and this time around it was Central Michigan.

The in-state foe was down 31-3 in the fourth quarter, but the Spartans seemed to let their foot off the gas a bit, allowing the Chippewas to reel off 17 straight points on their way to a 31-20 deficit.

Michigan State was able to put the game away with a couple of first downs, but this time of down-to-the-wire play isn’t something that’s necessary for a team like the Spartans, especially when they hold a 28-point fourth-quarter lead. This is a common theme, though, as Michigan State has had double-digit leads in the second half of each game this season and every single one has essentially been down to the final drive.

What’d we learn from the Spartans’ 31-20 victory on Saturday?

5. Offensive line still not where it needs to be

Another game is in the books and there’s still an ominous feeling surrounding the offensive line. These guys just haven’t been getting the job done as Brian Lewerke is running for his life on most pass plays and the run just isn’t getting going.

You might be thinking that this was the best showing for the line as the rushing offense finished with 160 yards, but against Central Michigan’s poor run defense, that’s not exactly a point of pride.

Michigan State must dominate teams like Central up front, but the line just couldn’t do it consistently on Saturday afternoon. La’Darius Jefferson and Weston Bridges created some of their own running lanes while Connor Heyward just ran people over. There needs to be room for these guys to run because averaging 3.4 yards per carry against Central isn’t something to brad about.

Central Michigan had two sacks and eight tackles for loss, showing that this line has a long way to go and it’s nowhere near where it needs to be.

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