Michigan State football: 3 takeaways from horrendous loss at Rutgers

On a day that looked like it would be a nightmare for a young quarterback in his first start, Michigan State football was the better team for 45 minutes against Rutgers.

Unfortunately, coaching gaffes and special teams mishaps led to an improbable loss when the Spartans were up by three scores to begin the fourth quarter.

Things didn’t look great early as the Spartans scored on the first drive but couldn’t seem to get anything going throughout most of the rest of the first half. They extended the lead to 17-6 at halftime and then tacked on what felt like a back-breaking touchdown in the third to make it 24-6.

This would have been Harlon Barnett’s first win as interim head coach and Katin Houser’s first as a starter.

What’d we learn from this horrendous loss for MSU?

3. Jalen Berger deserves more carries

We finally saw Jalen Berger take the field after missing a few weeks with an injury and he looked good while Nathan Carter was struggling to find space.

In fact, he finished the game with 49 yards on 11 carries and was able to find creases in the defense with some excellent vision. He looked like the best running back for the Spartans on a day when the coaching staff and offensive line seemed to do Carter no favors.

This performance showed us all one thing: Berger needs more carries.