Michigan State Football: Spartans seek revenge vs. Northwestern

Michigan State football will be out for revenge this Saturday as they host Northwestern in a key Big Ten battle.

Last year, the Wildcats bested the Spartans in triple-overtime, 39-31, as Clayton Thorson hit Flynn Nagel and Nate Hall picked off Brian Lewerke.

Just like that game, Michigan State enters ranked and the favorite, but that isn’t going to bother Northwestern.

The Wildcats, days removed from finding out leading rusher Jeremy Larkin would be forced to retire, nearly shocked Michigan. Despite building a 17-0 lead, they were unable to hold off a late rally, falling 20-17 and suffering a third consecutive defeat.

Along with the loss to Michigan, Northwestern has also dropped games to Akron and Duke at home since besting Purdue in the season opener, 31-27.

Thorson has returned from an injury that ended his year early last season, completing 87 of 143 for 927 yards, but with just three touchdowns. Nagel is also back, settling in as the No. 1 option in the passing game with 26 receptions for 291 yards.

The Spartans are riding high off back-to-back victories over Central Michigan and Indiana, though they also had to hold off Central Michigan last week after building a big lead.

Brian Lewerke has 999 yards passing and five touchdowns, but has also been picked off five times. Connor Heyward has 135 yards rushing and three scores, but leading receiver Cody White is sidelined with a hand injury after making 20 receptions for 300 yards and two scores.

Over their last five games dating back to last season, the Spartans are 4-1 with the lone loss coming at Arizona State, 16-13.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s conference contest between Northwestern and Michigan State:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 6
Time: Noon ET
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Venue: Spartan Stadium
TV: FOX Sports 1
Live Stream: FOX Sports GO | Fubo TV

Keys to Victory

There have been plenty of concerns with the Spartans this year, including an inability to get in the end zone at Arizona State and nearly blowing a big lead vs. Central Michigan last week. Nevertheless, they find themselves at 3-1 and 1-0 in the Big Ten entering a critical stretch in the season.

Next up for the Spartans are games with Penn State and Michigan, with the Ohio State date looming in November. But for Michigan State to make those games really matter, they must take care of business vs. Northwestern.

The Wildcats are also disciplined and play hard under Pat Fitzgerald, but injuries might be catching up to them. Without Larkin, they are missing a key piece to the offense, and staring in the face of a four-game losing streak will have them motivated this week.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of OddsShark

Point Spread: Michigan State -11
Over/Under: 44.5

Prediction

Michigan State should be able to move the football, but making sure the end results are touchdowns and not field goals will determine just how close this game ends up being. As long as the Spartans finish off their drives, the defense should make enough stops to come away with the victory.

Look for Northwestern to keep it close, though, until the final horn sounds.

Final Score: Michigan State 31, Northwestern 24