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Rocky Lombardi’s debut at QB was one of the best in Michigan State history

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Without Brian Lewerke in the lineup, nobody was giving Michigan State much of a chance to knock off Purdue. Rocky Lombardi’s inexperience coupled with a slew of injuries was expected to hinder the success of the Spartans.

But Lombardi silenced the doubters with his impressive performance in Saturday’s 23-13 win over the Boilermakers. It was actually one of the best first-time outings for a quarterback in program history.

According to Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press, Lombardi’s 318 passing yards were the second-highest total for a quarterback debut in Michigan State history. He came up seven yards short of passing Eddie Smith’s total of 324, which was set in 1976 against NC State.

Lombardi completed 26-of-46 passes Saturday, throwing two touchdowns without an interception. He also added 22 yards on 11 carries.

Prior to Saturday’s game, Lombardi had made an appearance in three games this season, making just two throws. He completed one pass for nine yards against Michigan. He also punted in the Spartans’ Week 2 game against Arizona State.

Thanks to Lombardi’s big day, the Spartans improved to 5-3 on the season and 3-2 in the B1G.

Dustin Schutte

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