PISCATAWAY, N. J. — Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke accumulated 278 total yards to set a school season record for a sophomore quarterback in the No.…
PISCATAWAY, N. J. — Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke accumulated 278 total yards to set a school season record for a sophomore quarterback in the No. 16 Spartans’ 40-7 win over Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday.
Lewerke has 3,206 yards of total offense this season, eclipsing Connor Cook, who passed and ran for 2,928 yards for the Spartans in 2013. Lewerke completed 21 of 31 passes for 222 yards and a TD, and he ran for 56 yards on 13 carries, including a 4-yard run in the fourth before he was lifted.
Redshirt freshman Matt Coghlin connected on a career-high four field goals to help the Spartans reverse their record of 3-9 last season. Michigan State (9-3,7-2 Big Ten) won six of its last eight games.
Rutgers starting quarterback Gio Rescigno failed to complete his first three passes of the game and was lifted for Johnathan Lewis, who was 6-of-16 for 98 yards, with two interceptions and a touchdown. The Scarlet Knights (4-8,3-6) managed just 14 yards on 12 carries against the Big Ten’s second stingiest team against the run.
The Scarlet Knights were attempting to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2014, but they lost their last three games by a combined 103 points to Penn State (35-6), Indiana (41-0) and Michigan State.
The Spartans had the ball for 47:50. Rutgers had it for only 12:10.
Gerald Holmes scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard bolt for a 26-7 Michigan State cushion.
Michigan State scored on its first three possessions of the game for a 13-0 advantage. Rutgers had only seven plays for 3 yards in the first quarter.
Rutgers cut the lead to 13-7 on a 42-yard scoring strike from Lewis to a wide-open Raheem Blackshear in the middle of the field with 14:05 left in the second.
Coghlin’s third field goal of the half, a 46-yarder that tied his career-high, provided Michigan State with a 16-7 lead with 7:14 to go in the second. The Spartans held the Scarlet Knights to 72 yards in the half.
Coghlin added a 32-yard field-goal in the third for a 19-7 lead.
NOTES: Rutgers managed only five first downs, compared to 27 for Michigan State.… The Spartans converted 13 of 21 third-down chances, while Rutgers was 0-6.… Rutgers honored its 27 seniors in a ceremony before the game.… The Scarlet Knights have nine wins over ranked opponents in their history. The highest ranked team they defeated was No. 2 USF in 2007.… According to the NCAA, Michigan State has played the eighth-most difficult schedule in the FBS.
