Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke is playing hurt, but can he lead his team to a massive upset over the Ohio State Buckeyes?
It’s safe to say that, even with six wins so far this season, that the Michigan State Spartans aren’t thrilled with how this season has gone so far. Brian Lewerke would probably agree with you emphatically.
At 6-3, the Spartans have already clinched their spot in a bowl game, but with few wins against true top-tier opponents. Their biggest win in the conference has been against a Penn State team that has lost its identity, with three losses to Arizona State, Northwestern and Michigan.
Meanwhile, Brian Lewerke has struggled in his redshirt junior season, completing just 55.9 percent of his passes for 1,740 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. To make matters worse, Lewerke has been dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Spartans’ game against Purdue, and it sounds like he’s still not 100 percent going against the Buckeyes.
Head coach Mark Dantonio commented on Lewerke’s status, but didn’t give a whole lot of answers.
“Brian’s our starting quarterback, you can go with that,” Dantonio said according to 247Sports.com. “That’s the foundation that he’s built here. I didn’t see any velocity issues relative to his arm strength. I think you guys push and point towards trying to get answers, and push people towards those things. If he was hurt, he would not be playing.
“Is he 100 percent? Nobody’s ever 100 percent 10 games into the season. But if he could not play, he would not play.”
A 6-3 season with few prestigious wins could completely turn around with a win over Ohio State on Saturday, but they’re going to need a gritty performance for the ages from their starting quarterback.
Things didn’t go well for Lewerke and company last season against the Buckeyes, losing 48-3 in an absolute blowout. The Michigan State QB finished going just 18-of-36 for 131 yards and two interceptions.
Lewerke will need to do better this time around.
There are signs that Spartans fans should at least have some hope on Saturday. The Buckeyes have been getting off to some rough starts in their games, and have found themselves trying to avoid near-upsets to teams like Nebraska in recent weeks.
Ohio State’s defense is also without its superstar in Nick Bosa, who has decided to focus on rehabbing and prepare for the NFL draft instead of continuing to play and risk injury.
Lewerke won’t be able to do it all in this one, and will need some help from his defense to contain Buckeyes star and Heisman Trophy candidate Dwayne Haskins. If the Spartans can keep this from turning into a shootout, and Lewerke can tough it out to make some big plays, he’ll have a chance to turn this season around.