Reasons to be Hopeful for a Michigan State Upset Win
Michigan State will return to action this weekend against their biggest rival.
The Spartans have a chance to propel them to an undeniably successful first season under Coach Jonathan Smith. In his first season in East Lansing, Smith has already matched the Spartans’ win total from last season, with five games remaining in the season. Three of those five games are at home.
Their matchup with Michigan this weekend will be on the road, and the Spartans will likely enter the game as underdogs. However, William Schwartz and R.J. White of CBS Sports believe Michigan State has a better chance than some may think.
“The Michigan State Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) have the exact same record as their mortal rivals, but the general perspective of the program is very different. The Spartans are coming off a 4-8 season and a 5-7 campaign in 2022, so a viable push toward bowl eligibility is quite the positive. Evidently, new head coach Jonathan Smith already has begun to turn things around in East Lansing, as his squad is poised to surpass its win total from a year ago.
“Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles has an identical touchdown-to-interception ratio, so this game shouldn’t be a shootout by any means. Michigan is favored by somewhere around five points at most major sportsbooks, including FanDuel and DraftKings.”
Schwartz and White believe Michigan State has a chance to pull off the upset, partially because of the Wolverines’ struggles on the offensive side of the ball. They point to Michigan’s inability to play a complete game on offense at any point this season as a reason the Spartans should be confident heading into their matchup with Michigan.
“It easily could be argued that Michigan’s 4-3 record should be even worse,” Schwartz and White said. “The Wolverines squeaked past USC with a late touchdown and barely survived a comeback bid by Minnesota. Their offense has yet to put together four palatable quarters of football.
“Michigan’s defensive metrics aren’t fantastic, but it’s worth noting that there are few opponent-adjusted statistics for college football. As such, the numbers for Michigan State have been influenced heavily by games versus Oregon and Ohio State, two of the country’s best offensive teams.
“Against less-elite Power Four squads like Iowa, Maryland, and Boston College, the Spartans have allowed scoring totals in the low 20s. They could have an even better day against a Michigan offense in total disarray, taking a lot of pressure off Chiles and the offense to put up big numbers.”
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Ezekiel is a former Sports Editor from the Western Herald and former Atlanta Falcons beat writer.