Will Brian Lewerke of Michigan State start against Purdue?

The Michigan State head coach chose to play with his junior star, although he struggled to be precise.

The timing was bad, said Dantonio.

What's happening with Lewerke's shoulder could dictate the move to Rocky Lombardi or Theo Day, the 12-year-old coach said on a teleconference last night to recall the Spartans' 21-7 loss to Michigan .

"I think the situation is improving over time," said Dantonio about Lewerke's right arm. "So I think that even now, as the week progressed, he felt better. That's why we made the decision and he decided to play.

"I think it's better today than yesterday, so we'll have to make the decision as we go along."

Lewerke scored 5 of 25 goals for just 66 yards, but also captured a 4-yard pass for a Wolverines pass Saturday, saying he was injured a week earlier in the MSU win at Penn State. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Lewerke's 20% success rate was also the worst success rate of a quarter-quarter of the Big Ten, with at least 20 attempts in the last 20 years.

"I do not want to apologize with that," Lewerke said after the match. "Obviously, that probably affected a little (precision). But not enough to be as bad as I played today. "

Dantonio cautioned not to put the Spartans' defeat solely on the injury or inaccuracy of Lewerke, although he admits that his second-year starter was "off" during the match.

"It's the protection, the downs and the distance, the separation that the large receivers can have on the defensive back and certainly the concept used. You must also look at this, "said Dantonio. "There are plenty of things to do. … you know, people want to put it on one person. It's not just for one person. It's on our entire unit. And the coaches. "

The Wolverines had just scored 14 points with 10:21 to play. After going back, Lewerke came out with the MSU offensive.

"Coach Warner has somehow suggested – we talked about when we would do that, but I wanted to stay with Lewerke for an extra set," said Dantonio, adding that he "wanted to give another Brian Lewerke's luck "to move the offense.

It was a three-game losing streak and Lewerke got three rushing yards and two incomplete passes. The last was when Lewerke was under pressure and rolled to his left, a high and wide laser from Darrell Stewart Jr.

Michigan recovered the ball and shot 6h41 from the clock before banging. Dantonio put Lombardi with 2:38 to play. Redshirt rookie moved the Spartans into the field, mostly because the Wolverines made four training penalties. However, the MSU offensive stalled at 39 U-M and returned to the ground when Lombardi was fired twice before giving an incomplete pass to fourth.

Dantonio, who after the match expressed a vote of confidence for Lewerke as a starter, also gave an overview of last week's practices. After stating that Lewerke did not train from Monday to Thursday, Dantonio stated that his QB was training in a limited capacity, running the ball but not throwing it. Lombardi and Day took turns to attack the first team.

What does it mean that he will start Saturday at home against Purdue (noon, ESPN) remains to be seen.

"I've always believed in him. I've always felt that he had a very good behavior. I've always said that, "said Dantonio. "He's a confident guy on the field and out of the field, and he can play with. If he's having a bad time, I've always thought that he could answer.

"I trust our other quarters, but I will always give our guy a chance. He put himself in a situation where he proved himself. "

Pre-match "juvenile"

Dantonio made a brief remark about the confusion between some Wolverines and his players, who were performing their traditional phalange march on the pitch about two hours before the kickoff Saturday.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called Dantonio and the "Bush League". Dantonio responded by saying that the charges were "B.S."

"You know, really, will not even bother to comment. I have never commented on a coach in the past, and I will not talk about it for the moment, "Dantonio said Sunday night," And for me everything was kind of juvenile, and things are going to happen. in the games of rivalry, but I sort of maintain what I said yesterday. "

More: The pre-match story between Michigan and American football

More: The pre-game story between Michigan football and the state of Michigan

Receivers down

Felton Davis III is expected to undergo surgery in his left Achilles torn this week, said Dantonio, an injury ending his academic career, which will require about six months of rehab while the senior prepares for the NFL project in April.

This leaves many questions and problems to the wide receiver for MSU.

Dantonio said he was expecting Cody White's student to be back "sooner rather than later," but declined to give a more concrete timetable. Redshirt rookie, C.J. Hayes, started playing in the last few weeks before being injured indefinitely at Penn State last week and missing the U-M game. Laress Nelson also did not play with a leg injury that he suffered late in the game, while Jalen Nailor came back, but in a few clicks on Saturday. And Dantonio said Brandon Sowards had not played Wednesday or Thursday, but played Saturday.

"It's difficult with our vast network of receivers," said Dantonio, "as they have been changing. … But you can not excuse yourself in a football game. You have to play with what you have. You have to play on the day of the match. And they played better than us, certainly on the defensive side of the ball, and they managed to get offensive results.

"So we have to be able to play with pain, I guess."

Dantonio was not as accurate with Matt Allen's lower body injury, saying the second-year student's status is "somewhat unknown" and would have no prognosis.