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The uniforms may have been the only ugly thing about the Michigan State Spartans Saturday night in East Lansing.
The Spartans played host to the Western Michigan Broncos under the Spartan Stadium lights. However, Michigan State was anything but hospitable to their in-state opponent, winning 51-17.
The Spartans shook off the offensive cobwebs from the previous week, and wasted no time in doing so. Set up by a 29-yard run by Elijah Collins, Brian Lewerke threw a touchdown pass to Matt Dotson on the fifth play of the game to take a lead they would never give back.
Following a missed field goal attempt by Western, Lewerke led the offense on another touchdown drive. This time it was La’Darius Jefferson scoring on a two-yard run. The drive was on the back – or arm – of Lewerke, who completed five passes for 53 yards.
Lewerke’s next drive finished with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Stewart Jr to take a 21-0 lead.
The Spartans would score ten more points before even going to halftime, holding a 31-7 lead. From there, the route was on. Michigan State was well on its way to blowing out the Broncos, who managed only 10 more points, all coming in the fourth quarter against backups.
The MSU quarterback wasn’t the only player to put up big numbers. The Spartans may have found their new starting running back in Collins who took 17 carries for 192 yards.
For his part, Lewerke finished with 314 yards through the air, three touchdowns and one interception. His top target for the night, Stewart, went for 185 yards and a touchdown. Cody White also caught a touchdown, while Jefferson took two into the end zone and junior Alante Thomas ran for a late touchdown as well.
The win, while dominant, wasn’t flawless. The defense slipped on occasion against the aggressive Western Michigan offense. Had it not been for two missed field goals in the first half, the game could have taken on a much different feeling. However, after dropping two interceptions in the first half, the defense took advantage of mistakes in the second half, getting picks from Tyriq Thompson and Xavier Henderson.