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Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from mammoth upset of Penn State

By Connor Muldowney

STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 13: La'Darius Jefferson #15 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Brian Lewerke #14 after scoring a 1 yard touchdown in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - OCTOBER 13: La'Darius Jefferson #15 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Brian Lewerke #14 after scoring a 1 yard touchdown in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football wasn’t expected to hang with the high-octane Penn State Nittany Lions, but the Spartans pulled off the unthinkable upset.

If you were among those predicting a 49-3 blowout by Penn State over Michigan State in Happy Valley, present yourself and turn in your fan card. Sure, it’s OK to be realistic, but doubting Mark Dantonio is never a smart thing to do.

Michigan State’s win over Penn State was done in typical Dantonio fashion. The Spartans were 13.5-point dogs on Saturday and they shocked everyone, hanging with the Nittany Lions only to score the go-ahead touchdown with 19 seconds left on a strike from Brian Lewerke to Felton Davis III.

This will go down as one of the greatest wins in Dantonio’s career and you can bet he was more than happy to celebrate the win with his ailing team.

What’d we learn from the Week 7 upset of Michigan State over Penn State?

5. La’Darius Jefferson showed No. 1 back potential

Don’t get me wrong, the Spartans may be far from finding their No. 1 back, especially with an offensive line that can’t open holes on a consistent basis, but freshman La’Darius Jefferson looked like the future in the backfield for Michigan State.

Though he did nearly cough the ball up in a crucial spot, Jefferson played like the top dog in the backfield on Saturday, out-performing Connor Heyward and the lightly-used Weston Bridges. LJ Scott was once again out and did not travel with the team because of his injury and fans are beginning to wonder if he’s out for a longer period of time than originally expected.

Jefferson’s numbers weren’t awe-inspiring, rushing 15 times for 60 yards and a touchdown, but he was consistent and found holes where there didn’t seem to be any. His 27-yard run late in the game gave Michigan State great field position and he showed patiently and incredible vision, bobbing and weaving through defenders.

The Spartans may have found their future No. 1 back.

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