Where MSU Football Ranks Amongst Big Ten Ahead of Rutgers Game
With the Michigan State Spartans football season coming to a close, with one last game against Rutgers, the team has had an up-and-down journey along the way. From start to end, regardless of the outcome of MSU's season, the team as a whole fought till the end.
The Spartans rank 13th among the Big Ten in average yards per game, going into their final game with 340.7. The Spartan's opponents, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, rank eighth in the conference in average yards per game, with 382.6.
MSU does crack the top ten, at number 10 in passing yards per game, averaging 224.3. Quarterback Aidan Chiles has been consistent all season long with the Spartans. Chiles himself averages 205.9 yards in the 11 games played so far with MSU. MSU averages more passing yards than Rutgers, which can only favor them in their matchup.
The Spartans do fall in the ranks when it comes to their rushing offense. Sitting ranked 14th in the conference with an average rushing amount of 116.5 yards per game. The Scarlet Knights outrun the ball compared to MSU, where they rank fourth in the Big Ten and average 173.4 rushing yards per game.
On the last stat for offense, being average points scored per game, MSU ranks 15th. The 15th overall ranking is their lowest offensive rank, as MSU averages 19.8 points per game. MSU's opponents, Rutgers, have been scoring 26.7 points on average per game this season.
Flipping to the defensive portion of the game, MSU does rank higher than their opponents when it comes to average defensive yards allowed per game. The Spartans rank ninth in the Big Ten and have averaged 329 opponent yards. Rutgers ranks second to last, allowing 392.3 yards on the defensive.
MSU also ranks ninth in passing defense, with 211.5 yards per game, while Rutgers allows 241.7 yards per game. When it comes to the rush defense, MSU ranks eighth with 117.5 rushing yards allowed per game. Rutgers's defense has allowed 151.5 rushing yards on average.
While MSU ranks higher on defense compared to Rutgers, both teams have the same amount of average points allowed, at 24.7 a game. It could easily come down to who makes fewer mistakes and will walk away victorious in this final game.
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Dominic Minchella holds a communications degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is a former MLB writer and joins our team ad an NFL/College team reporter on Sports Illustrated