Cruise Control: MSU wins opener, 35-10
Jim Comparoni | Publisher
EAST LANSING - Michigan State dominated the middle quarters in coasting to a 35-10 victory over Bowling Green, in the season opener Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans were far from error-free on this day, but the final score helps begin the 2017 season on a sweet note, helping to reduce the sour memory of last year’s 3-9 season.
“After today, what happened in the past doesn’t matter anymore,” said senior linebacker Chris Frey. “We are a new team, new guys.
“There is a sigh of relief but we are just excited. We just celebrated hard in the locker room.”
That's the first time they've been able to do that since blowing out Rutgers last November.
“It seems like forever,” said head coach Mark Dantonio. “It’s been challenging. You go through things, but you persevere. Our football team has done that for quite awhile. It was a good thing for us and I believe it can take us a little bit higher.”
Sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke overcame a slowish start to find a rhythm during a two-minute drill TD drive before halftime which put Michigan State up 14-3 at intermission and jump-started the young signal caller.
Lewerke went 22 of 33 for 250 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions. He also rushed eight times for 69 yards, becoming a weapon on scrambles and option keepers.
“A couple of times I threw it at their feet or threw it behind them and I thought our receivers did a fantastic job today," Lewerke said. "I got a couple of starts last year so that helped a little bit with a jitters. I tried to turn them down and turn it into excitement on the field.”
Dantonio thought Lewerke played well, overall.
“He made plays with his feet. You can see that he can create," Dantonio said. "First game is tough. We had some low balls, had some high balls thrown. It’s not perfect but I thought what we did was handle our situation, handle our situation - I thought we did that. We kept playing, played for the next play. I thought our guys competed, played with enthusiasm. You get frustrated when things aren’t done exactly right, but we’ll press on.”
Madre London came off the bench to rush for 54 yards and one TD.
Starting tailback LJ Scott had a poor day, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry (15 attempts for 39 yards). He fumbled at the 1-yard line, aborting MSU’s opening drive. Then in the third quarter, he fumbled again, which was scooped and returned for Bowling Green’s only touchdown of the day.
“The strength of our football team is our tailbacks and we ran the ball pretty effectively, but we can’t turn it over,” Dantonio said. “Obviously the turnovers, you want to clean up. You can’t turn the ball over many times and win.”
Sophomore wide receiver Darrell Stewart showed star quality with a team-high six catches for 85 yards. He also ran three ties for 28 yards on jet sweeps.
Felton Davis added four catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-handed grab in tight coverage that went for an 8-yard score.
Trishton Jackson had three catches for 41 yards, including a nice 21-yard third-down conversion which fueled a game-changing touchdown drive.
“I thought they performed well," co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said of the new wide outs. "They had some good stats but hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg for them. Those guys can continue to grow and be a very good group.”
Junior cornerback Tyson Smith, coming back from a stroke last fall, returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Spartans a 35-3 lead in the third quarter.
"He's a great story to begin with," said co-defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. "The emotion that brings to the whole team is absolutely amazing. It was great to see him make a play."
Nine true freshmen played for the Spartans.
"They were ready," Tressel said. "They are also a special group of kids. There will be a couple more that you see over the next couple of weeks, I believe."
MSU held a 25-9 advantage in first downs and held Bowling Green to 2-of-13 on third down.
“We came out and we really balled today,” Frey said. “We talked about it all season that we were going to bring back the Spartan Dawg mentality. We did a really good job today and we are going to continue to improve.”
"I want to thank our fanbase," Dantonio said. "They showed up today, especially our studentsection. They came out and it was a great day to be a Spartan."
More coverage coming on SpartanMag.com.
Jim Comparoni | Publisher
EAST LANSING - Michigan State dominated the middle quarters in coasting to a 35-10 victory over Bowling Green, in the season opener Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans were far from error-free on this day, but the final score helps begin the 2017 season on a sweet note, helping to reduce the sour memory of last year’s 3-9 season.
“After today, what happened in the past doesn’t matter anymore,” said senior linebacker Chris Frey. “We are a new team, new guys.
“There is a sigh of relief but we are just excited. We just celebrated hard in the locker room.”
That's the first time they've been able to do that since blowing out Rutgers last November.
“It seems like forever,” said head coach Mark Dantonio. “It’s been challenging. You go through things, but you persevere. Our football team has done that for quite awhile. It was a good thing for us and I believe it can take us a little bit higher.”
Sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke overcame a slowish start to find a rhythm during a two-minute drill TD drive before halftime which put Michigan State up 14-3 at intermission and jump-started the young signal caller.
Lewerke went 22 of 33 for 250 yards with three touchdowns, no interceptions. He also rushed eight times for 69 yards, becoming a weapon on scrambles and option keepers.
“A couple of times I threw it at their feet or threw it behind them and I thought our receivers did a fantastic job today," Lewerke said. "I got a couple of starts last year so that helped a little bit with a jitters. I tried to turn them down and turn it into excitement on the field.”
Dantonio thought Lewerke played well, overall.
“He made plays with his feet. You can see that he can create," Dantonio said. "First game is tough. We had some low balls, had some high balls thrown. It’s not perfect but I thought what we did was handle our situation, handle our situation - I thought we did that. We kept playing, played for the next play. I thought our guys competed, played with enthusiasm. You get frustrated when things aren’t done exactly right, but we’ll press on.”
Madre London came off the bench to rush for 54 yards and one TD.
Starting tailback LJ Scott had a poor day, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry (15 attempts for 39 yards). He fumbled at the 1-yard line, aborting MSU’s opening drive. Then in the third quarter, he fumbled again, which was scooped and returned for Bowling Green’s only touchdown of the day.
“The strength of our football team is our tailbacks and we ran the ball pretty effectively, but we can’t turn it over,” Dantonio said. “Obviously the turnovers, you want to clean up. You can’t turn the ball over many times and win.”
Sophomore wide receiver Darrell Stewart showed star quality with a team-high six catches for 85 yards. He also ran three ties for 28 yards on jet sweeps.
Felton Davis added four catches for 35 yards and two touchdowns, including a one-handed grab in tight coverage that went for an 8-yard score.
Trishton Jackson had three catches for 41 yards, including a nice 21-yard third-down conversion which fueled a game-changing touchdown drive.
“I thought they performed well," co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said of the new wide outs. "They had some good stats but hopefully this is just the tip of the iceberg for them. Those guys can continue to grow and be a very good group.”
Junior cornerback Tyson Smith, coming back from a stroke last fall, returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to give the Spartans a 35-3 lead in the third quarter.
"He's a great story to begin with," said co-defensive coordinator Mike Tressel. "The emotion that brings to the whole team is absolutely amazing. It was great to see him make a play."
Nine true freshmen played for the Spartans.
"They were ready," Tressel said. "They are also a special group of kids. There will be a couple more that you see over the next couple of weeks, I believe."
MSU held a 25-9 advantage in first downs and held Bowling Green to 2-of-13 on third down.
“We came out and we really balled today,” Frey said. “We talked about it all season that we were going to bring back the Spartan Dawg mentality. We did a really good job today and we are going to continue to improve.”
"I want to thank our fanbase," Dantonio said. "They showed up today, especially our studentsection. They came out and it was a great day to be a Spartan."
More coverage coming on SpartanMag.com.
