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Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from Maryland loss
Oct 22, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) runs the ball defended by Maryland Terrapins linebacker Shane Cockerille (2) at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Here are the top five takeaways from Michigan State football’s Week 8 loss at Maryland Saturday night.
Watching the Michigan State football game on Saturday night, it was obvious that there were some major flaws on both sides of the ball that needed to be corrected still. The Spartans had chances to score and extend the lead, maybe even put the Terrapins out of reach, but they squandered some opportunities.
For instance, instead of kicking a field goal in the first half with no time left, Mark Dantonio decided to attempt a fake and have Michael Geiger run to the short side of the field. That could have given MSU a 17-14 halftime lead.
Let’s say they did kick a field goal and take the lead, Michigan State had an opportunity to score a touchdown but Monty Madaris fumbled the ball at the Terrapins’ five-yard line. That could have made it 24-14.
With a 10 point lead, this team may have played with more motivation, but instead it just crumbled and allowed Maryland to take a 21-17 lead and then add another touchdown late in the fourth.
Here are the five major takeaways from the Michigan State football loss.
5. Offensive line not fixed just yet
It was yet another day of a Michigan State starting quarterback running for his life. For the most part, Brian Lewerke’s plays were designed to roll out which prevented a bull rush up the middle from blitzing linebackers.
No, the offensive line might not be completely fixed, but playing young guys like Tyler Higby and Thiyo Lukusa bodes well for the future. Those guys can become a staple of the offensive line and fix the problems down the line. Combine them with Brian Allen next season and you have half of a formidable line.
More holes were opened in the run game, though. The Spartans ran for 170 yards and 79 of those were from Lewerke. LJ Scott had a nice comeback game and Gerald Holmes also played well.
The line isn’t fixed just yet, but it’s — slowly but surely — getting there.
Oct 22, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Riley Bullough (30) is ejected from the game in the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
4. Riley Bullough is the glue to the defense
Riley Bullough had the worst game of his career on Saturday night. The senior captain, and starting middle linebacker, was flying around the field and was in on multiple defensive stops in the first 10 minutes of the Maryland game, but it didn’t take long for his aggressiveness to hurt the Spartans rather than help them.
I get that he wanted to play tough and get that chip back on his shoulder, but he picked up three personal foul penalties as well as a targeting call within the first 11 minutes of the game and was effectively ejected. This means that he will miss the first half of next week’s game as well.
It was clear that his absence hurt the defense. While he played against Northwestern last week when the defense had arguably its worst game under Dantonio’s reign, the guys look up to him and when he plays like he did on Saturday, that can ruin a unit.
The defense never really recovered and allowed Maryland to run all over them and perry Hills did whatever he wanted to through the air. Missed tackles were a major issue again and his absence was detrimental.
If Michigan State is going to win another game this year, he needs to play with his head on straight.
Oct 22, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) celebrates his touchdown run against the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
3. The old LJ Scott is back
It’s good to see LJ Scott playing the way we all knew he was capable of performing. After four consecutive games of less than 20 carries, Scott broke out for 128 yards and a touchdown on 20 touches.
In case you don’t realize just how important it is to get him the ball early and often, when he runs the ball less than 20 times in a game, he’s pretty ineffective and his yards per carry don’t look very pretty. The more carries he gets, though, the more the opposing defense breaks down and struggles to stop him.
That was evident on Saturday night in his long 48-yard touchdown run — the longest run of his entire collegiate career. His previous career long was 38 yards last season against Oregon, but it’s a good sign to see him breaking away from defenses again and showing that sneaky speed.
Scott is a big guy, but he does have speed and elusiveness that many people don’t realize. He’s a lot like Le’Veon Bell in that category.
During the four previous games in which he had less than 20 carries, he accounted for a total of 133 yards and 4.3 per carry. In the three games this year in which he has 20 or more carries, he’s rushed for 331 yards and his average, per carry, is 5.3 yards.
Oct 22, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Brian Lewerke (14) led the offense against the Maryland Terrapins at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
2. Brian Lewerke should start for the rest of the year
You have to give it up to Tyler O’Connor for starting his career as a Michigan State No. 1 quarterback 3-0 with wins on the road against Ohio State and Notre Dame, but it’s time to thank him for his work and hand over the keys to Brian Lewerke.
O’Connor didn’t do a horrific job like everyone makes it out to seem, but it’s time to build for the future and having a fifth-year senior start from here on out would be a silly decision.
Lewerke is clearly the future of the program, with Messiah deWeaver, and he needs to be the starter under center for the final five games. If he has seven starts under his belt when the 2017 season begins, you’d have to feel pretty good about the program at that point.
You can look at Lewerke’s completion percentage on Saturday and think that he had a bad game, but a lot of his incompletions were from throw aways and pressure-induced tosses out of bounds. He finished the game with 156 yards passing and 79 rushing yards.
This dual-threat ability could help the Spartans this weekend against a tough Michigan defense which basically shuts all opponents down. If Lewerke can scramble out of pressure and find open guys down the field, the Spartans will have a much better chance than if O’Connor starts.
It’s time for the Lewerke era to officially begin.
Oct 22, 2016; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins defensive back Alvin Hill (27) intercepts a pass intended for Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Donnie Corley (9) at Byrd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
1. Future is bright, present is not
David Dowell, Khari Willis, Donnie Corley, Brian Lewerke, Kenney Lyke, Joe Bachie, Justin Layne, Thiyo Lukusa and so many more young guys have gotten into the action. Redshirts are being burned at a record pace and the Spartans have a bright future ahead.
Must Read: MSU Football: 3 things we learned against Maryland
We might look back on this season, whether the team finishes 4-8 or 3-9, and realize that this was a somewhat necessary rebuilding year. No, missing a bowl was not part of the plan, but giving the young guys experience had to be.
The seniors haven’t played very well to this point. The upperclassmen are being outperformed by the younger guys like LJ Scott and Lewerke who are the future of this program. Right now, it’s hard to even imagine what a winning season would be like since the team is currently riding a five-game losing streak, but this is the kind of thing that makes players stronger.
No one likes losing and you can bet these guys will remember this feeling for years to come and make sure that they never have to experience it again.
Just imagine the next few seasons with a more experienced Lewerke under center, handing the ball off to Scott or passing it to Corley, Cam Chambers, Felton Davis or Trishton Jackson. Tyler Higby and THiyo Lukusa will dominate the offensive line and Layne, Lyke and Willis will roam the secondary.
The present might not be ideal, but the future is very bright.
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