Michigan State Football: Rocky Lombardi Leads the Way
Ann Arbor, MI – Even after a devastating season-opening loss to Rutgers, Rocky Lombardi didn't focus on the turnovers.
Yes, he acknowledged them, realizing it's difficult to beat anyone when turning the ball over seven times.
But he also focused on the positive.
Michigan State still moved the ball, ending up with 23 first-downs, 369 yards of total offense, and three passing touchdowns.
"All I'm thinking in my head is we've got some guys, we can move the ball offensively," said Lombardi. "We can win any game that we come into the game with the right mindset and right attitude."
He wasn't wrong – the Spartans walked into Michigan Stadium with a completely different gameplan than they used against Rutgers, featuring a consistent deep ball thrown by Lombardi.
In doing so, the Spartans did more than hang with the Wolverines; they never surrendered the lead following a 30-yard touchdown pass to true freshman Ricky White.
Lombardi never looked back, as Michigan State relentlessly took shots downfield, completing five throws for 30-yards or more and two for 50-yards or longer.
The redshirt junior finished with a career-high 323 passing yards, the third-highest total by an MSU quarterback vs. Michigan.
However, Michigan State's strategy went beyond the stat-sheet – the Wolverine defensive backs were flagged four times, which gave the Spartans an extra four first-downs and 50-yards.
MSU wasn't able to celebrate on the field, but nothing could take away from bringing the Paul Bunyan trophy back to East Lansing.
"It was just a lot of emotions piled on top of each other," Lombardi said. "Obviously, last week didn't go how we wanted it to, but to get a win this week was really emotional for our guys and it's going to motivate us for the rest of the season."
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