In the past few games, MSU has managed to put up a fight offensively, thanks to accurate passing from Lewerke who has been playing at a much higher level than he was the past two years. 

“We’ve got to make sure guys stay together,” Lewerke said. “And not have a repeat of this. Make sure we learn as much as we can in practice and make sure we’re on the same page.”

But the effort made at Camp Randall Stadium triggered bad memories from Lewerke’s play last year. He finished the game with seven of 16 pass attempts completed, while handing out an interception that led to a Badger touchdown. 

“I wasn’t throwing it very well,” Lewerke said. “The wind was a little bit of a factor.”

On the other side of the field, Badger quarterback Jack Coan was efficient and consistent; two things the Spartans lacked all game. The junior from New York, Coan, ended the day with 18 completions for 21 attempts, while earning one touchdown too. 

Coan’s ability to connect on 85.7 percent of his passes Saturday, made the Spartans’ offense look discombobulated. The chemistry between him and his receivers and running backs made the scoring look easy, even up against MSU’s nationally ranked defense.  

“They’re very efficient at passing the football when we did give them the third and long a couple times they successfully converted,” Dantonio said.

After the first half, Michigan State was down 17-0 due to the absence of a Spartan first down. MSU achieved only one first down in the first two quarters, while Wisconsin had 13. 

Some Spartan fans will blame Lewerke, but that’s not all that went wrong Saturday. There were plenty of missed tackles on the offensive line, and one too many dropped passes from receivers.

Either way you look at it, the Spartans will need to work on both sides of the ball to be able to pick themselves up for Penn State. Luckily, MSU has its bye week this week to recoup and analyze what everyone can do better.