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Rapid Reaction: Brian Lewerke has big day as Michigan State wins Pinstripe Bowl
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Final score: Michigan State 27 Wake Forest 21
Brief recap: What started out as a bit of a shootout in the first half turned into a defensive battle in the second half at Yankee Stadium. Michigan State and Wake Forest went back and forth through the first 30 minutes, seeing four lead changes to open the contest. The Spartans struggled to find the end zone offensively in the first half, with one of their two touchdowns coming on a Mike Panasiuk interception near the end of the first quarter to give the Spartans a 10-7 lead. In the second quarter, quarterback Brian Lewerke scrambled eight yards to the end zone to give MSU a 17-14 advantage in the second half. A 44-yard touchdown strike midway through the second quarter from Jamie Newman to Jack Freudenthal was enough to give Wake Forest a 21-20 edge at the break. Things really slowed down in the second half. The only score in the final two quarters was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Lewerke to Cody White, which ended up being the game-winning play. Wake Forest had shots at the end of the game to retake the lead, but the Spartans defense held strong.
Key moment: Panasiuk’s pick-six was a pretty big play, considering how easily Wake Forest moved the football on its first position. That interception gave Michigan State an early lead and prevented the Spartans from falling behind 14-3, a tough deficit to overcome for an offense that struggled all year.
Key stat: Time of possession often isn’t the story of the game, but it was in the second half for Michigan State. When the Spartans needed a long drive to milk the clock, they were able to do so. Even when they didn’t get points, they were able to force Wake Forest to use critical timeouts, putting them in a tough spot late in the contest. At the end of the night, MSU won the time of possession battle 35:10-24:50.
Key player: In the final game of his college career, Brian Lewerke stepped up in a big way. He wasn’t perfect, but he was the leader Michigan State needed offensively. Lewerke finished the day completing 26-of-37 for 320 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 11 times for 46 yards and a score. Not a bad way to go out.
What it means: This still wasn’t the season Michigan State had hoped for in 2019, but ending the year 7-6 is a lot better than 6-7. And maybe, just maybe, this win gives the Spartans the kind of springboard into next season that they’ve needed. There’s no question that Mark Dantonio needs to make some changes to his staff and offensive philosophy heading into next year, and it’ll be interesting to see what moves he makes during the offseason. But ending with a win is something to happy about this postseason.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB