Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from rout of Maryland in Week 10

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COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 03: Connor Heyward #11 of the Michigan State Spartans scores a touchdown past Antoine Brooks Jr. #25 and Deon Jones #14 of the Maryland Terrapins during the first half at Capital One Field on November 3, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

4. Michigan State got back to the basics on the ground

For weeks, Dave Warner and the Michigan State staff has been trying to find ways to get the ball moving on the ground. There was some attempted creativity with jet-sweeps and options, but on Saturday, there was a lot of running up the middle, which had been a weakness for Maryland all season long.

Most of the time, the runs between the tackles don’t work for the Spartans because of the offensive line’s inconsistencies, but this week, it worked. Add to that some quarterback runs by Brian Lewerke to keep the defense guessing and Michigan State got back to the ground-and-pound basics.

The Spartans had their best rushing output of the season, finishing with 269 yards and three touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry — and Maryland was supposed to be the superior run team.

Connor Heyward was the Spartans’ first 100-yard rusher on the season, capping his day off with an 80-yard scamper to shut the door on the Terrapins. He finished with 157 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Lewerke added 45 yards, Weston Bridges had 36 yards and La’Darius Jefferson totaled 30. Not a bad day for an offense looking for some type of run success.

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