Michigan State vs Michigan will be one of the more talked about games entering Week 6 of the college football season.
One of the better rivalries in all of football will take place on Saturday as the Michigan State Spartans and Michigan Wolverines square off in Ann Arbor. Known as the “big brother” to the Spartans, the Wolverines have owned the overall series between the two, posting 69 wins to the Spartans’ 35.
Despite the lopsided all-time series numbers, the Spartans have not been all that little in recent history, as the team has won eight of the last ten meetings dating back to 2008. Of course, their most recent win ended up as one of the more crazier finishes of the rivalry and all of college football as a botched Michigan punt ended in a Spartans win back in 2015.
Following a down year last season, the Spartans will enter this weekend’s matchup a bit more confident after starting the year 3-1 and coming off a big win against Iowa last week.
Date: Saturday, Oct. 7
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Venue: Michigan Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Keys to Victory
The Wolverines enter the game 4-0 and ranked No. 7 in the country and yet, there are still questions surrounding the dominance of the team. Up to this point, the offense has not experienced one consistent quarterback and after Wilton Speight went down with an injury last week, it appears John O’Korn could be the guy under center moving forward.
Both the Wolverines (1) and Spartans (3) rank in the top three in the Big Ten in total defense and both are allowing less than 20 points per game. Despite the defensive dominance, both are not especially impressive in the turnover category, as the Wolverines are sitting at even on the year, while the Spartans are minus-2 on the season.
The key to victory to both teams will be taking care of the ball and controlling the tempo. Michigan State currently ranks No. 2 in the conference in time of possession, while Michigan comes in at No. 4, respectively. The mindset of each team will be to wear down the other and grind out long, methodical scoring drives. Whichever team can go positive in the turnover department will cause the other team’s defense to be on the field longer and will put them in the driver’s seat for the game.
Prediction
The Spartans have responded nicely to the abysmal three-win season in 2016 and are in much better shape to pull off the upset in Ann Arbor. Michigan’s top ten ranking still remains in question up to this point by many and a lot will be told about the Wolverines on Saturday.
Michigan State is not the pushover they were a year ago and will come out fired up. Both teams will be putting out a lot of young guys and this game’s feel will represent a lot of equal parts. The one deciding factor may be the home field advantage for the Wolverines. Michigan State has not won in Ann Arbor since 2010 and the atmosphere could be the deciding factor for a young group of Spartans.
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The Wolverines and Spartans will go neck and neck for four quarters, giving the college football world an instant classic. A late turnover in the nighttime atmosphere will end up being the deciding factor and freshman kicker Quinn Nordic will be the hero, making it two street against their arch-rivals.
Final Score: Michigan 20, Michigan State 17