Michigan State football: 5 things I want to see from the Spartans against Rutgers

Michigan State closes out the regular season with a home game against Rutgers on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; TV: Fox) and the Spartans will be looking to end the year on a high note after a few bumps in the road lately.

Michigan State is 6-5, and 4-4 in the Big Ten. Rutgers is 1-10 and has lost all eight Big Ten games this season. The Spartans are favored by 27 points.

Here are five things I want to see from the Spartans this weekend against Rutgers:

1. Get a shutout for the defense

Michigan State’s defense has been great all year, and they’re still No. 1 in the country against the run, averaging only 78.9 yards per game. That’s a stat they’d like to keep to end the season with, so expect them to be sharp and on point all game. Rutgers is averaging only 13.8 points per game this year, and has been held to a touchdown or less four times, including each of the past two weeks against Michigan and Penn State.

2. Force turnovers from freshman QB Artur Sitkowski

This poor kid Artur Sitkowski got thrown to the wolves this year, and it’s too bad. The true freshman has some talent, but he’s been roughed up and hopefully it hasn’t stunted his growth as a quarterback. He’s completed only 48 percent of his passes and has only 4 touchdown passes, compared to 18 interceptions. He will turn the ball over, so the Spartans need to take advantage of that.

3. Keep running the ball with Connor Heyward

Michigan State has found something late with Connor Heyward.  The sophomore from Duluth, Ga., has suddenly become the team’s leading rusher, and he’s done in with big games against Maryland (157 yards) and Nebraska (80 yards) the past three weeks. He also caught five passes for 78 yards last week, and was the best player on the field for the Spartans. More of the same Saturday would be nice for a team that’s struggled to run the ball all year.

4. Get something out of the quarterback position

With Brian Lewerke still nursing a sore shoulder, we’ll probably see freshman Rocky Lombardi against at quarterback. He went only 15 of 41 passing for 146 yards at Nebraska, and had a fumble and an interception at costly times. He did win his first start at home against Purdue, so hopefully he’ll be more comfortable in East Lansing.  “I think Rocky Lombardi had his first experience at an away game with a loud, hostile environment when the chips sort of stacked against him a little bit as it came down the stretch,” Dantonio said. “He had to make plays down the stretch, and I think that’s a tremendous learning environment for him. I think he’s a competitor. I think he’s got great leadership skills and he made plays in the game, as well, so he’ll be better this in this matter opportunity out.” One last look at him will be nice, and a good game will do wonders for his confidence in the offseason

5. Generate your own energy

This might be an odd environment at Spartan Stadium. A game against Rutgers on Thanksgiving weekend doesn’t generate a lot of excitement and there are going to be thousands of empty seats there for the 4 p.m. Saturday game. As quiet as it will be, it’s going to be up to the players to genereate their own intensity. That’s never easy.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.