Michigan State football 2017 game-by-game recap

Lansing State Journal Published 3:31 p.m. ET Dec. 30, 2017 | Updated 6:20 p.m. ET Dec. 30, 2017

From San Diego, Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press / LSJ MSU beat writer Chris Solari analyze the Spartans' 42-17 Holiday Bowl win over Washington State and what it means for MSU going forward. Graham Couch / Lansing State Journal

Coming off a nightmarish 3-9 season, many believed Michigan State football was facing a long rebuilding process. The Spartans proved those predictions wrong with a 10-3 season that included a road win over rival Michigan, a stunning upset of Penn State and an emphatic Holiday Bowl rout of No. 21 Washington State. Here's a quick look back at MSU's comeback season:

Sept. 2
Game 1: Michigan State 35, Bowling Green 10

Sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke completed 22 of 33 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns to give Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio his 10th opening day win in 11 years with a dominating Spartan Stadium victory. More importantly, the win over the Falcons helped put the Spartans’ disastrous 2016 season even further back in the rearview mirror. Junior wide receiver Felton Davis hauled in a pair of touchdown passes and Tyson Smith, just months removed from a stroke, returned a 36-yard interception for a touchdown. If there was one red flag in the opener, it was MSU’s four fumbles – two by Lewerke and a pair from junior running back LJ Scott.

Sept. 9
Game 2: Michigan State 28, Western Michigan 14

The offense stole the spotlight in the opener. Week two belonged to the defense. After racking up just 11 sacks the year prior, the Spartans got to Broncos quarterback Jon Wassink four times and held WMU’s high-powered offense to just 195 total yards at Spartan Stadium. A week after the Broncos gashed No. 4 Southern California for 263 yards, the young Spartan defense held WMU to just 116 yards on the ground. Lewerke scored on a 61-yard option keeper, and Scott found the end zone in the win. Darius Phillips, the Broncos senior cornerback, scored both WMU touchdowns, returning a 67-yard fumble for a score and taking a kickoff back 100 yards.

Sept. 23
Game 3: Notre Dame 38, Michigan State 18

“We’re not broken,” Dantonio said after a mistake-filled home setback against Notre Dame under the lights at Spartan Stadium. No, the Spartans were not broken. They outgained the Irish by 141 yards and dominated in time of possession by more than 8 minutes. Even that couldn’t help MSU overcome three crucial turnovers – a Lewerke pick-6 and a Scott fumble at the goal line – and nine penalties for nearly 100 yards. Lewerke completed 31 of 51 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, and Darrell Stewart snagged his first career touchdown reception. “We gotta get better,” linebacker Andrew Dowell said. “That’s a team we can play with. The score shouldn’t have been that bad.”

Sept. 30
Game 4: Michigan State 17, Iowa 10

MSU senior linebacker Chris Frey said he expected a slugfest with Iowa coming to town. He was right. The Spartans held the Hawkeyes to just 231 total yards, including 19 rushing yards on 25 attempts at Spartan Stadium. Davis had a career day for the Spartans, hauling in nine catches for 114 yards and MSU’s only two touchdowns on the day, both of which came in the first quarter. The defense took care of the rest, sacking Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley three times and recovering its first two fumbles of the season. The Spartans defense had six three-and-out stops on the day, including two in the final four minutes.

Oct. 6
Game 5: Michigan State 14, No. 7 Michigan 10

For the eighth time in 10 games, and the second straight inside the vaunted Big House in Ann Arbor, MSU topped in-state rival Michigan. In the first night game between these two programs, not a downpour or the nation’s top defense could stop the Spartans in the 110th meeting in the series. Lewerke opened the scoring for the Spartans with a 14-yard diving touchdown in the first quarter, and the sophomore tossed a 16-yard screen pass to Madre London for what would eventually be the game-winner late in the second. U-M turned the ball over five times on the night. David Dowell picked off a pair of John O’Korn passes, and Joe Bachie added another, silencing 112,432 Wolverine fans.

Oct. 13
Game 6: No. 22 Michigan State 30, Minnesota 27

Scott rushed for a career-high 194 yards and two touchdowns, and the Spartans defense held on late in a rain-soaked win in Minneapolis. After a 34-minute lightning delay, both teams got off to a sloppy start, combining for four fumbles in the first 8 minutes. MSU placekicker Matt Coghlin nailed three field goals, and London finished with 74 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Minnesota’s back-up quarterback Demry Croft made things interesting late, connecting with Tyler Johnson for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. But, it wasn’t enough. “It’s unacceptable by the defense. We gotta learn how to finish,” Bachie said.

Oct. 20
Game 7: No. 19 Michigan State 17, Indiana 9

This one wasn’t pretty, but after a 3-9 campaign the previous season, bowl eligibility was the rallying cry as Lewerke hit Davis on a 10-yard scoring strike with under 6 minutes to play to give the Spartans their first lead. Nearly 4 minutes later, Scott’s 18-yard touchdown solidified MSU’s sixth win with a victory at Spartan Stadium. Struggling most of the afternoon, Lewerke threw for 73 of his 185 yards in the fourth quarter, including a pair of critical third-down conversions to Hunter Rison and Cody White. Bachie finished with 13 tackles and a forced fumble in the win. Justin Layne registered 10 tackles and a pass break-up.

Oct. 27
Game 8: Northwestern 39, No. 18 Michigan State 31 3OTs

Lewerke threw for a school-record 445 yards and added four touchdown passes on a cold afternoon at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill. But it was the one pass he shouldn’t have thrown that resulted in a triple-overtime loss to the upstart Wildcats. On the final OT possession, Lewerke fumbled the ball, picked it up, and wildly launched a pass into the end zone into double-coverage. That landed safely in the hands of Northwestern’s Nate Hall. Wildcat fans rushed the field as the Spartans were handed their first Big Ten loss. White finished with nine catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and Davis added two more scores while snagging eight balls for 95 yards.

Nov. 4
Game 9: Michigan State 27, No. 7 Penn State 24

Coghlin – affectionately called “McMuffin” by Dantonio – kept the Spartans' Big Ten title hopes alive with a game-winning 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Spartans an upset over Penn State at a rainy Spartan Stadium. In a game that took nearly 10 hours of real time to complete thanks to a 3-hour, 22-minute lightning delay, Lewerke once again eclipsed the 400-yard mark and tossed a pair of touchdowns. Davis had a career day, hauling in 12 catches for 181 yards and a diving touchdown in the first half. The MSU defense held Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, once thought of as a Heisman favorite, to just 63 yards on 14 carries.

Nov. 11
Game 10: No. 11 Ohio State 48, No. 16 Michigan State 3

Ohio State handed MSU its most lopsided loss in Dantonio's 11 seasons, overpowering and outrunning the Spartans in a forgettable outing in Columbus that put the Buckeyes in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten East. JT Barrett and the Bucks rushed for 335 yards on the Spartans’ No. 3 rush defense, the most allowed in Dantonio’s tenure. Lewerke spent most of the afternoon on his back but completed 18 of 36 passes for 131 and two interceptions. Ohio State scored 35 straight points in the first half and amassed 524 total yards. It was the most allowed by MSU all season and the third straight game of giving up 400-plus yards.

Nov. 18
Game 11: No. 24 Michigan State 17, Maryland 7

Another ugly weather day in MSU’s home finale produced another ugly offensive showing for the Spartans' passing game as MSU outlasted Maryland in the wind, rain and a second-half snowstorm. Scott, Gerald Holmes and Lewerke combined for 271 of the Spartans' 291 total yards in MSU’s eighth win of the season. Scott rushed for a game-high 147 yards on 29 carries and Lewerke added 63 more on five rushing attempts. Both scored first-half touchdowns. Maryland managed just 83 yards on the ground. The Terrapins' passing game wasn’t much better, finishing with 121 yards. In his first “winter game,” Lewerke completed just two of his 14 passes. The Phoenix native finished with 20 yards through the air.

Nov. 25
Game 12: No. 19 Michigan State 40, Rutgers 7

The script was officially flipped. A year after going 3-9, Michigan State finished the regular season 9-3, hammering Rutgers in New Jersey. Lewerke completed 21 of 31 of his passes for 222 yards and a score, and freshman Connor Heyward caught his first career touchdown in the blowout. Holmes, London and Lewerke all added a touchdown on the ground as the Spartans racked up 436 yards of total offense. Bachie and Josiah Scott also picked off passes. The Spartans defense held the Scarlett Knights to just 98 yards passing and 14 yards rushing. “Part of me wants to say ‘Could have been 10-2,’” Dantonio joked after the game.

Game 12: No. 19 Michigan State 42, No. 21 Washington State 17 -- Holiday Bowl champions!

-Cody Tucker

Michigan State Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio and the Spartans raise the Holiday Bowl trophy after defeating the Washington State Cougars in the 2017 Holiday Bowl at SDCCU Stadium. Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports

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