Oregon football and Michigan State meet for the first time since their home-and-home series earlier this decade. Will the Ducks or Spartans prevail in Santa Clara?
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Back in 2014, Oregon took down Michigan State 46-27 at Autzen Stadium early on their path to the inaugural College Football Playoff. A year later, the Spartans returned the favor with a 31-28 win in East Lansing as they won a trip into the semifinals. In their six previous meetings, the Ducks and Spartans have played three home-and-home series with the home team winning each contest. Now they meet on neutral turf for the first time as they square off in Pac-12 country.
Oregon reached the Redbox Bowl this year after improving to 8-4 under first-year Ducks head coach and former FIU head man Mario Cristobal. That was good enough for only fourth in the Pac-12 North, however, as the Ducks lost four games in conference play. That included a 38-31 heartbreaker to Stanford in overtime at home after building a 24-7 halftime lead.
Michigan State had a similar type of year, going 7-5 with four losses in Big Ten play. The difference was a 16-13 loss on the road against Arizona State, as the Spartans boasted the nation’s best rushing defense and a top-15 unit overall but paired it with an offense that struggled to offer up any points in support.
While the Ducks failed to reach the Pac-12 championship game in Santa Clara, they have a chance to win this year’s bowl game at Levi’s Stadium. Can Cristobal’s crew take the first neutral-site game between these two sides, or will Mark Dantonio‘s squad come out on top? Here’s how you can watch the Redbox Bowl between Oregon and Michigan State:
Date: Monday, Dec. 31
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Santa Clara, Calif.
Venue: Levi’s Stadium
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go | FuboTV
Keys to Victory
After Justin Herbert announced that he is returning to Eugene for his senior season at quarterback, he became the focal point of this game. After finishing 12th in passing touchdowns this season, Herbert needs to put up a strong showing in this contest to ensure the Ducks keep their offense humming along. Oregon also needs to do a better job of getting downfield and making tackles on special teams, both on kickoffs and when they are forced to punt.
Michigan State, on the other hand, has a twofold task ahead of them to try to pull off the upset. The Spartans need to make Herbert one-dimensional and completely take away the running game from the Ducks. Then they need Brian Lewerke to justify the decision to start him at quarterback over Rocky Lombardi. If Lewerke flashes the top end of his potential, Michigan State will leave the Bay Area happy after taking the lead in the all-time series.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com
Point Spread: Oregon -2.5
Over/Under: 48
Prediction
Michigan State won’t make things easy for the Ducks, who have struggled to really put together a dynamic offense in the mold of their previous vintages under Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich. But Oregon still has a far better offense than the Spartans, and Herbert will prove the difference as the Ducks pull away with victory in Silicon Valley on New Year’s Eve.
Final Score: Oregon 31, Michigan State 13