Michigan State halftime observations: Defense dominant, offense not

Skip to main content

EAST LANSING — No. 20 Michigan State is in front of Tulsa, 25-7, at Spartan Stadium.

But the story remains the inefficiency of the revamped offense. By a mile.

Here are some observations at halftime:

Limited production

MSU has scored just one offensive touchdown, on the opening drive. Since then, it has been a sputtering mess.

The Spartans hold a 171-79 edge in total yards, but 73 of those came on the first drive of the game. Their defense set them up in Tulsa territory four times in five drives, and the offense came away with three Matt Coghlin field goals and its second turnover on downs of the game.

QB Brian Lewerke has looked good in the run game, leading MSU with 33 yards…