Overheard outside the Michigan State locker room: Stats can lie and ‘we’re not broken’ MLive
Notre Dame routed Michigan State 38-18 on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium. Here are some notable quotes from Michigan State coaches and players following the game
LJ Scott’s fumble-fingers hurt Spartans in loss Detroit News
Everything that LJ Scott brings to the table — speed, explosiveness, vision — can all be trumped by an inability to hang onto the football. For the Michigan State junior running back, fumbling has been an issue throughout his career as he entered 2017 with five fumbles, three having been lost. He then gave up the ball twice in the season-opener to Bowling Green, one coming at the goal line and the other getting returned for a touchdown.
MSU self-destructs with penalties Detroit News
While the turnovers were the story for Michigan State on Saturday night, the penalties came in a close second. As Notre Dame was busy turning Michigan State’s three turnovers into touchdowns in its 38-18 victory at Spartan Stadium, the Spartans weren’t doing themselves any favors by adding nine penalties for 97 yards.
3 questions: Is it bad Brian Lewerke threw 51 times? Detroit Free Press
Free Press columnist Jeff Seidel answers three pressing questions after Michigan State’s 38-18 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday at Spartan Stadium
Trishton Jackson shows glimpses of spring game success in loss to Irish Detroit Free Press
April 1 was a good day for Trishton Jackson. Michigan State’s sophomore receiver hauled in eight passes from Brian Lewerke and racked up a game-high 168 yards to lead all other wideouts at the annual Green-White spring game. After that game, MSU coach Mark Dantonio praised Jackson’s size, speed and hands. This, after a freshman season in 2016 that saw Jackson catch only five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.
What Michigan State football players, coaches said after loss to Irish Detroit Free Press
Here’s what Michigan State football players and coaches, and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly had to say about MSU’s 38-18 loss to the Fighting Irish on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.
Michigan State report card: Offensive errors costly in Notre Dame loss Detroit Free Press
Chris Solari rates the Spartans on a scale of 1 to 10 after their 38-18 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night
Michigan State’s turnover margin nosedive continues against Notre Dame MLive
Two games into the season, Michigan State was 2-0 but had already fumbled seven times with five turnovers total. “Can’t have those, can’t have those,” Michigan State running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said at the time. “Two weeks in a row, obviously we need to fix it.”
Michigan State explains why Brian Lewerke kept playing during blowout Detroit Free Press
“I wanted him to play,” Dantonio said after the Spartans’ 38-18 loss to Notre Dame. “We want to keep competing. And I think every snap he takes, he learns. I’m not going to say, ‘Let’s just put in our guys and let’s stop trying to play.’ I just don’t believe in doing that. You’ve got to try and play. We’re going to keep competing.”
Couch: LJ Scott should worry Michigan State; Brian Lewerke should not Lansing State Journal
There are things Chris Frey can say to LJ Scott that Brian Lewerke at this stage cannot. As in … “I walked over to (Scott) today and kind of ripped into him a little bit,” Frey said after Michigan State’s 38-18 home loss to Notre Dame Saturday night. “I told him, ‘We’ve talked about this multiple times, you’ve got to hold on to the ball.’”
Grading Michigan State’s performance against Notre Dame Lansing State Journal
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch grades the Spartans on a scale of 1-10.
Another goal-line fumble has LJ Scott facing familiar questions MLive
Had he made it a few inches farther and held on to that ball for a split second longer, the story on LJ Scott and perhaps the final score would have been far different. But instead, Michigan State’s junior running back will face some familiar criticism after Michigan State’s 38-18 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night.
Freshman tracker: Long makes it 11 true freshmen playing for MSU Spartan Tailgate
Somewhat lost in the aftermath of Michigan State’s 38-18 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night was that an 11th true freshman took the field for MSU at Spartan Stadium. Safety Dominique Long was in on the opening kickoff and played on various special teams throughout the night, as head coach Mark Dantonio indicated he probably would last week. Long recorded only one tackle in his debut, but it was a good one, as he popped Notre Dame return man Chris Finke for no gain on a first-quarter Jake Hartbarger punt.
Observations from MSU’s loss to Notre Dame Spartan Tailgate
If Saturday night was supposed to teach us more about this year’s Michigan State football team, MSU fans didn’t learn what they wanted to as the Spartans took on Notre Dame. Michigan State lost to the Irish 38-18 in a game that was filled with self-induced mistakes, sloppy play and a lack of discipline. With that, here are some first impressions from Saturday night.
Decision making still ‘ongoing process’ for Lewerke Spartan Tailgate
Brian Lewerke was talking collectively about the Michigan State football team when discussing the gradual growth of the young Spartans after a 38-18 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium. But whether intentional or not, the sophomore quarterback’s words applied to himself more so than any other player in the MSU locker room.