Quarterback Brian Lewerke helped the Spartans in Saturday's win over Central Michigan by earning two touchdowns, both by using his legs. But, the junior threw another interception against the Chippewas, continuing his streak of at least one pick per game thus far this season.
MSU's offense ran for a total of 160 yards in the game compared to Central’s 63 yards. This was an impressive showing for a Spartan team whose rushing attack ranked 112th in the country going into Saturday.
Co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said he believed Lewerke felt some pressure on himself to compensate for his team's struggles on the ground.
“I think with the struggle we had with the run game, I think Brian was probably putting a little extra pressure on himself,” Warner said. “To be quite honest in the first three games our pass game was needed to carry us for the most part and he was probably trying to do a little bit too much.”
The team is very well aware of their struggles with their run game throughout the first four games of the season. Warner mentioned this as something the Spartans want to focus on once they get ready to head back into Big Ten conference play.
On the other hand, Lewerke said he felt the team has no issues with the running game and feels more confident after today’s game compared to previous ones.
"I don't think there is any pressure on me,” Lewerke said. “I have full confidence in our running game."
Both Warner and coach Mark Dantonio felt confident with Lewerke’s ability to read the field well, especially after getting the team on the board with his 3-yard touchdown run in the first half. They admit the play was not supposed to unfold the way in which it did, but Lewerke was able to handle the play effectively.
Lewerke would get intercepted during the first half after his pass meant for senior wide receiver Felton Davis failed to make it to him. Besides that, Dantonio was happy with his quarterback's performance.
“I thought he did some things very well out there,” Dantonio said. “He had a couple touchdown runs and moved into the pockets. He had some big plays out of the pocket and made some good decisions on blitzes to get the ball out hot.”
Warner feels that they can help take pressure off Lewerke by letting him know that he can always run the ball instead of throwing a rushed ball.
“He did a very good job on getting outside of the pocket, especially in the fourth quarter,” Warner said. "That's something we've told him time and time again '(When) you get out there, you don't have to throw it, if you've got some green space out there go ahead and run it.'"
But, all in all, Warner thinks his quarterback is "doing a good job."
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