Sparty On! After a disastrous 2016 season, the Michigan State Spartans are back to their old winning ways under Mark Dantonio. The Spartans are 3-1 on the season and are fresh off of a big win over Iowa last week. In that game, they jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, and then held on in the second half for a 17-10 win. This week we will see if Michigan State is for real. They will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines for the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
This contest in Week 6 of the regular season will go down Saturday, October 7, 2017, at 7:30
p.m. ET at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This game will be broadcast on ABC.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Michigan State +10.5
Michigan -10.5
Over/Under 40.5
Odds Analysis
The Wolverines are undefeated this season, but have struggled against every opponent outside of Florida. Michigan did not look impressive in wins over Cincinnati, Air Force, or Purdue, and its offense looked relatively lifeless. Although the Wolverines eventually rallied to win each game by double digits, this team showed that it wasn’t equipped to outscore teams if the defense was having an off day. Michigan is 2-2 ATS this season and the under is 2-1-1 in its games.
Michigan State has been much like its in-state rival this season. The offense hasn’t been great, but the defense has been lights out and that has led this team to a 3-1 SU and 3-1 ATS mark. The Spartans have defeated Bowling Green, Western Michigan, and Iowa, but were trounced by Notre Dame. Three of their four games have went under the total with Notre Dame being the lone exception.
If you’re a fan of trends, you’re going to love this game. Michigan State has covered nine in a row in this series.
Last Meeting
No fan of either school will be able to forget what happened the last time these two teams met in Ann Arbor. It was a close, back and forth affair, but Michigan looked like it had won the game. The Wolverines were up by two points with the ball on Michigan State’s 47 with 10 seconds to play and just had to punt the ball away to ice the win.
However, disaster struck when punter Blake O’Neill dropped the punt. He tried to save the play by tossing a pass, but instead the ball went into the arms of Jalen Watts-Jackson who ran in the score for the game-winning touchdown. It was a stunning way to end the game and a stunning loss for Michigan. There’s no doubt that Jim Harbaugh and this team want revenge after that game.
Key Stats
These are two of the best defenses in the country. Michigan has the best defense in all the land in terms of total defense. The Wolverines allow just 3.52 yards per play and are allowing 203.3 yards per game this season. That’s an absurd figure and they are 40 yards ahead of every other major conference team.
What makes that more absurd is how young this defense is. Only one starter returned from last year’s defense, but Don Brown is again proving why he is one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation.
Michigan State’s defense is no joke either. The Spartans are fifth in the country in total defense, allowing just 248.3 yards per game. Their yards per play average is significantly higher though as their defensive numbers have been boosted by a clock control offense.
Free ATS Pick
Everyone is going to like the under in this game, but the total is too low for me. Weird things happen when these two teams play and one or two special teams or defensive touchdowns isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Instead, I’m going to look for Michigan State to keep it close enough to pick up its 10th straight cover in this series.
College Football Odds: Michigan 24, Michigan State 20
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
