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MSU QB Rocky Lombardi talks offensive improvement, Week 3 matchup vs. Iowa
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After some struggles in their season-opening loss to Rutgers, Michigan State and quarterback Rocky Lombardi got rolling on Saturday. Lombardi sparkled in the Spartans win over Michigan.
Lombardi, was 17-of-32 for 323 yards with three touchdowns in Michigan State’s 27-24 upset at ‘The Big House’ for Mel Tucker’s first win as head coach of the program.
“This is a real homecoming for me. I’ve had this game circled since junior year of high school,” Lombardi said on Monday morning, per Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.
The redshirt-junior hails from Clive, IA. A three-star recruit in high school, he chose Michigan State over in-state offers such as Iowa and Iowa State.
Lombardi and the entire Michigan State offense struggled in that season opening loss to Rutgers. The Spartans had seven turnovers including two interceptions by Lombardi.
But that all seemed a distant memory on Saturday afternoon at Michigan, where Lombardi put together a solid performance. The Spartans had 449 yards of total offense and didn’t turn the ball over once in the big win over their in-state rival.
As impressive as the turnover-free game from the offense was the fact that Lombardi wasn’t sacked once at Michigan.
An improved offensive line, benefitting from better communication, was the key according to Lombardi.
“If we can protect, we can be pretty good and hard to beat,” Lombardi said.
On Saturday, Iowa lost 21-20 to Northwestern. The bad weekend was compounded by the fact that on Saturday night, wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette was reportedly arrested for operating a vehicle while allegedly intoxicated.
Smith-Marsette had seven catches for 84 yards in this weekend’s loss and will be suspended for this weekend’s game.