Michigan State football looks to avoid letdown vs. Tulsa in Week 1

Michigan State football will be on upset alert when it opens the 2019 season at home vs. Tulsa Friday night in East Lansing.

The Spartans enter a top-20 program with hopes of reaching the Big Ten title game and competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

While the league race will have no bearing on the opener versus the Golden Hurricane, any hopes of the latter would be crushed if the Spartans fail to deliver.

Tulsa has yet to really get into a groove under head coach Philip Montgomery outside of one season, but they have added some key pieces to the offense. Montgomery found plenty of success while coaching the prep ranks in Texas before landing at Houston and Baylor as the offensive coordinator.

Injuries derailed the season a year ago for Michigan State, as they finished just 2-3 down the stretch. That included a 7-6 bowl loss to Oregon and a 9-6 defeat to Nebraska. The Spartans also scored just 32 points over their last four games, “breaking out” for 14 vs. Rutgers in a win.

Here’s how you can watch Thursday’s game between Tulsa and Michigan State:

Date: Friday, Aug. 30
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Spartan Stadium
TV: FOX Sports 1
Live Stream: FOXSportsGO | Fubo TV

Keys to Victory

Health and consistency on offense are much-needed for Michigan State this year. Playing Tulsa in Week 1 is a great way to get that started and going towards bigger things.

Brian Lewerke returns after throwing for over 2,000 yards with eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions a year ago. The experienced quarterback battled injuries and completed just 54 percent of his passes.

The Spartans also failed to have a running back top 600 yards on the year a season ago, but do return a handful of top skill players to fill those positions and hopefully be better this year.

Tulsa went 10-3 and won the Miami Beach Bowl in 2016, finishing second in The American. Since, though, they have won just five games and only three in the league. That makes four losing seasons in five years under Montgomery, which likely needs to change for him to keep the job.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of Bovada

Line: Michigan State -23
Over/Under: 48

Prediction

Michigan State tends to play well in these type of games — meaning ones that they are highly-favored and overwhelmingly the better team. Tulsa has some good skill players, but the depth is not there to compete with the Big Ten Spartans.

Look for Lewerke and Michigan State to pick the Golden Hurricane defense to pieces and coast home with a convincing victory.

Final Score: Tulsa 13, Michigan State 45