Michigan State Football: When will it be time to replace Dave Warner?

Michigan State football lost another tough game where the offense didn’t come to play and that falls directly on Dave Warner and Mark Dantonio.

Are you offended? You should be. For a head coach who pours his blood and sweat into a program like Mark Dantonio does for Michigan State, he can’t continue to defend his offensive coordinator.

Having a successful head coach with talent on the offensive side of the ball continue to allow his offensive coordinator cost him games is offensive to the fan base. The fans deserve better than the product that is run out on the field every Saturday.

Just how bad have the Spartans been on this side of the ball? They haven’t scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter against Maryland — that’s two games ago.

Since “breaking out” for 31 points against Central Michigan, the Spartans have scored over 20 points just three times, and that includes games against lackluster defenses such as Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue and Nebraska. In those games, the Spartans are just 2-2.

On Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Michigan State made the right move, starting Rocky Lombardi, but it was Dave Warner who messed up the game plan.

The worst possible scenario for the Spartans was watching Connor Heyward break off a 27-yard run up the middle in the first quarter because Warner went back to that play time, and time, and time, and time, and time again. The Spartans ran the ball 38 times for 143 yards and there’s a good chance they went up the middle on 35 of those.

That unimaginative play-calling was the difference. Nebraska responded by shutting down the run after that first drive.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the wildcat. That type of play formation hasn’t worked since 2007 and yet Warner continues to try and run it. When Heyward is lined up at quarterback, everyone and their mother knows what’s coming.

What about that shovel pass on third-and-goal from the 8-yard line? Awful.

Throwing the ball down the field with the wind in Lombardi’s face instead of short 5-10 yard passes? Yup, Warner called that, too.

So when is it time to move on from the offensive coordinator and forward as a program? A year ago was the perfect time.

We can only watch an offense suffer while the defense puts together a historic season, in Michigan State’s standards, and allow it to keep happening before demanding change.

If Dantonio remains loyal to Warner after this season, the downfall of the program is on him.