Michigan State's woeful offense barrels toward finale disappointed

LINCOLN, Neb. — Everything Michigan State fans wished for came true.

Rocky Lombardi got the start. He knew on Monday he would replace Brian Lewerke, who had an injured shoulder.

Immediately, the offense moved the ball and ate up the clock. The Spartans’ first drive, which ended in a field goal, could be considered a success.

It was a deep exhale. Followed by a slow, continual return of tension.

By halftime, it was obvious: This was not just about who was playing quarterback.

By the third quarter, it became clear: The first team to 7 points would win.

By the fourth quarter, it became painful: Receivers kept dropping passes in the wind as the snow began to fall, even though the quarterback refused to acknowledge the missteps.

And by the final horn, it became reality: MSU remains a team stuck on repeat.

A dominating defense that can stop anyone in the country. And an offense that is one of the worst in college football.

Nebraska (4-7, 3-5 Big Ten) kicked three field goals in the final 11 minutes, 7 seconds as the Spartans’ offense crawled into hibernation in a 9-6 loss Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“It’s tough,” said Lombardi, who finished 15-for-41 for 146 yards with an interception and a costly fumble. “It’s tough to put your finger on what exactly happened. … At the end of the day, you just gotta find a way to get it done. It’s as simple as that.”

More:Michigan State football admits: Struggling offense 'frustrating'

MSU (6-5, 4-4) did not get a touchdown for the second straight game and has not scored one in the last 131 minutes of football.

The Spartans played undisciplined football, with seven penalties for 87 yards. Five of those went for 15 yards, with one by Matt Doston costing them yardage on a missed field goal in the second quarter and another by Shakur Brown helping lead to the Huskers’ first score in the fourth period.

“I keep saying it to our players — because what else do you say sometimes — the difference between winning and losing is so small, you really, really can cut it with a knife sometimes. I mean, it’s so small,” MSU coach Mark Dantonio said. “That’s also the difference between joy and frustration, and there's enough of that to go around.”

The Spartans turned the ball over deep in their own territory again, when Lombardi got sacked and fumbled on free-blitzing Nebraska safety Antonio Reed. That led to the game-tying Barret Pickering field goal with 8:07 to play.

That was followed by a three-and-out possession, with a 1-yard run by La’Darius Jefferson and two Lombardi incompletions. One of them was on Dotson’s second drop of the game, after he dropped another in the back of the end zone on MSU’s final field-goal drive early in the fourth quarter.

“I felt like if I had to point to one thing in the football game, you have to look at the dropped passes,” Dantonio said. “I thought Lombardi played pretty well. You gotta make some decisions on what you’re running — you can’t run it all.”

Graham Couch: Michigan State doomed by poor game plan in loss to Nebraska

Nebraska took over at its own 47 after William Przystup’s punt. Freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, who was bottled up by the Spartans’ defense almost all afternoon, marched his offense just 23 yards, close enough for Pickering to boot a 47-yarder with the wind at his back to give the Huskers the lead.

Dantonio made the decision to abandon a run game that produced a solid 143 yards on the ground and let Lombardi air it out.

After hitting Connor Heyward for 34 yards to get back into Nebraska territory, he watched two more drops — by Cody White and Matt Sokol — stall the drive at the Huskers’ 41. The one to White, Dantonio felt, had big-play potential.

Said Lombardi, trying to protect his pass catchers, “I didn’t see any drops.”

Dantonio opted to punt and play defense, like MSU did in upsetting Penn State. The Spartans forced a quick three-and-out, using two timeouts, and got the ball back at their 38 with 3:52 remaining. It gave Lombardi, who led them to a win over Purdue in his only other start, a chance to be the hero.

More:MSU football grades: Defense was great, but nothing else worked

He moved 33 yards, to the Nebraska 29, with the only running play his 8-yard QB draw to convert a third down near midfield. MSU also got help with a pass interference penalty.

On third down, Lombardi threw to Laress Nelson on an out pattern. Another drop.

On fourth down, he threaded a pass to Sokol down the right seam. It got broken up.

Nebraska took over and took a knee. Just like Ohio State did a week earlier when MSU’s offense fizzled.

“I would think if there is a level of frustration, it would come from the head coach, too,” Dantonio said. “So, yeah, I'm frustrated about points. But the play-calling was fine. We've gotta execute. There's an execution factor that's involved here.

"Now, some of it's weather, some of it's (Nebraska) playing and making plays on the ball. Some of it's us. So you gotta be able to sort it out and look at it and say, ‘OK, what is the underlying factor here?’ But you gotta to score points."

The Spartans entered this season with hopes of contending for the Big Ten title. Instead, they've settled into mediocrity amid a slew of injuries and inconsistency on offense.

Dantonio would not commit to a quarterback for next Saturday at home against Rutgers (4 p.m./Fox), saying Lewerke could have played against Nebraska in case of an injury to Lombardi.

One regular-season game remains, MSU’s senior day — a chance to celebrate the careers of the veterans but another moment for the Spartans’ young players to figure out what the problems are on offense. Whomever Dantonio decides to go with at quarterback will have bigger issues than keeping the job.

And finding a rhythm from one of them could determine who starts the bowl game, if Lewerke is healthy enough to play. As much from a leadership standpoint as it is about finding more production.

“We gotta send them out on the right note at Spartan Stadium. We gotta get them that win,” junior linebacker Joe Bachie said. “Rutgers is gonna come in ready to go, and this should be a game we should win. We’ve said that all year, but we haven’t been able to win some of these games.

“We just gotta get to work again on Monday.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!