Michigan State Football: Report card for ugly win over Indiana

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EAST LANSING, MI – SEPTEMBER 28: Darrell Stewart Jr. #25 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Cody White #7 after catching a pass for a five-yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Spartan Stadium on September 28, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Offense

For the first time in just about two years, the offense picked up for the defense and put up 34 points — the last six points came on a defensive score as time expired. This side of the ball was the most consistent against the Hoosiers.

Brian Lewerke: A-

Look past his completion percentage and you probably just witnessed one of the top two or three performances from Brian Lewerke since he took over as starting quarterback. He looks like his old self and led the team in rushing with 78 yards on 12 carries, breaking the 1,000-yard mark for his career. He also added 300 passing yards and three touchdowns and currently leads the Big Ten in yardage through the air. He’s also up to 10 touchdowns on the year. Yes, he missed three, or so, wide open receivers, but that will happen when you throw it 36 times. He was on the money for most of the game and his early string of incompletions was more a product of poor blocking.

Running Backs: C

This is a C grade strictly by default. Elijah Collins was the lead back like always and he had just 56 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. The lanes just weren’t there for him but the Spartans didn’t run the ball nearly as much as they passed it and it’s because it wasn’t working behind that offensive line. When your quarterback is your leading rusher, that’s never a good sign for the run game. Connor Heyward didn’t dress or play as his status with the team seems uncertain (we should know more soon). La’Darius Jefferson did play and had four yards on two carries.

Receivers/Tight Ends: B+

Can we just call this category Darrell Stewart Jr. and Cody White? OK, so maybe this group had more help from guys like CJ Hayes and Matt Seybert, but the aforementioned duo played well. There were a couple of surprising drops, which leads to the B+ grade, but it’s not easy to be perfect all the time. Stewart Jr. continues to lead the Big Ten as a receiver, adding a 117-yard game with two touchdowns and White had four receptions for 67 yards. Seybert continued to impress as he had three catches for 43 yards and a touchdown. Trenton Gillison caught his first pass as a Spartan and Matt Dotson had a reception to go along with a drop.

Offensive Line: C-

I was a little disappointed with the offensive line, mostly in the second quarter when Lewerke went through his 1-for-9 completions streak. He was given all the blame for “lack of accuracy” but he was throwing a lot of balls into the ground and away to avoid sacks. He could have been brought down by blitzes on 3-4 occasions, but he felt the pocket collapse and tossed it into the turf. The line also didn’t open the same holes they did last week or the week before, but health continues to be an issue.

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