Matchup to Watch: MSU QB Brian Lewerke vs. Indiana's Containment on Defense

Written By Alex Compton (@Alexncompton)

Just like recent seasons, IU has been through a ton already and finds themselves at 3-3 despite it all. But hey, drop all of that, because IT’S SPITTOON WEEK LET’S GO! IU is looking to keep the Old Brass Spittoon in Bloomington for a second straight season, and will have to pull out a win on the road against the 18th ranked Spartans. After a dismal 3-9 year in 2016, Sparty has come back from the dead to hit the halfway mark at 5-1. This will mark the fourth straight ranked Big Ten opponent for IU, which is by far the toughest stretch of any Big Ten team in either division (Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, MSU). Before I jump into the actual matchup to watch for this week, I would just like to point out that it won’t matter if they can’t contain LJ Scott. After a terrible start to the year, one of the nation’s best backs had nearly 200 yards and tallied 2 scores in a win on the road against Minnesota. So as a precursor to the matchup this week, make sure the defense is bottling up LJ Scott before worrying about this next one. 

BRIAN LEWERKE VS. IU’S CONTAIN

Brian Lewerke is better than John O’Korn, and it’s not close. However, he’s behind JT Barrett, Trace McSorely, and probably Kurt Benkert on the list of QB’s the Hoosiers have played this year. Lewerke is your classic Michigan State quarterback, as in he’s the type of guy that will manage the game well and just break the back of the defense with a few clutch plays during the game. He features pinpoint accuracy on shorter throws, but his arm isn’t deadly enough yet to really stretch defenses out vertically. That will come with time, but what will kill IU on Saturday if they aren’t ready will be the "nickel and diming” that leads to relaxation on defense and eventually a missed assignment and a big play as a result. So let’s say Tom Allen’s defense bottles up LJ Scott for starters, and then makes sure the small passing plays stay small gains. All good, right? Not quite. The biggest thing with Brian Lewerke is his mobility, and IU has struggled with some of those QB’s in the past couple of years. 

Michigan State will use some read options, some designed quarterback runs, and some run-pass options, i.e. plays where Lewerke has to make two reads really quick and make a move with the ball. These can all be game planned for, and the Hoosiers have had good success against these types of plays this year due to their preparation. What you can’t prepare for is the extended plays, and that’s really what you have to worry about with Lewerke. Even if the secondary plays lockdown defense for 60 minutes last year, MSU will have really solid passing totals if the front seven can’t get Lewerke on the ground. So if 14 in Green gets outside of the pocket, IU is in deep trouble. He has the speed and vision to break off some big runs, and he can throw well enough on the run to hit some open receivers for chunk yardage down the field. Their offense is centered around a solid ground game and timely passing, both things that IU can slow down or stop completely. What they really have to focus on stopping is the extended plays by Brian Lewerke, and that will be fun to watch on Saturday. 

Other Notes On This Matchup:

In the last two games, the Indiana defense has allowed 58 total passing yards 

Brian Leweke’s stats through six games (courtesy of ESPN.com):