Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from loss to Oregon in Redbox Bowl

Michigan State football’s season finale matchup against Oregon in the Redbox Bowl was ugly on the offensive end, but the defense was great.

Who saw a defensive battle in the Redbox Bowl? Now that everyone is raising their hand, let’s talk about what we learned from Michigan State and Oregon’s defensive battle in Santa Clara.

Michigan State mounted a 6-0 lead before Oregon bounced back to take a 7-6 lead in the fourth quarter and put together another decent drive with under 10 minutes left. The Spartan defense was gassed late in the game, and it showed.

The offense couldn’t quite move the ball and the defense was tired of carrying the team. The game ended exactly where that last touchdown left it, 7-6 in favor of the Ducks.

What’d we learn from the 2018 Redbox Bowl between MSU and Oregon?

5. Line gave Brian Lewerke little to no time

Believe it or not (sarcasm intended) Brian Lewerke was given no time to drop back and find an open receiver. Sure, he was still suffering through some jitters after not starting a game since the Ohio State matchup back in November, but Lewerke just didn’t even get a chance to sniff out an open receiver before the defense was on him.

In typical Lewerke fashion, he tucked and run when he had a chance, picking up some big gains on the ground, but he could only do so much.

Lewerke had his moments, but if he was given more time, he likely would have gained more confidence early on and the Spartans may have scored in the first half on multiple occasions.

The interception near the red zone was his fault, though, as he couldn’t handle the shotgun snap and rolled out and tried to throw the ball away, but it wound up in Oregon’s hands.