The time is going to come when Mark Dantonio gets the Michigan State Spartans truly over the hump. Sparty won the Big Ten last season and was in the College Football Playoff for the first time, but it was shutout by Alabama in an embarrassing game. Now that Connor Cook has graduated, the common thought is that this team is set to take a turn for the worse in the coming years.
Michigan State Spartans Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Michigan State Over 8 Wins ( -125 )
Michigan State Under 8 Wins ( -105 )
The really big issue Michigan State has is replacing all of the NFL talent which was lost this past season. The team had five men drafted this past season, including the No. 8 pick in the draft, Jack Conklin as well as its starting quarterback in Cook. Shaq Calhoun, a third rounder, was arguably the team's best defensive player.
That doesn't mean the cupboard is bare, though. Though Cook was arguably the best quarterback MSU has had in recent memory, Tyler O'Connor is a nice stopgap while Dantonio finds the quarterback of the future for this squad. O'Connor is a senior, and he's considered to be great at managing the game and protecting the football, and that's all MSU needs. Throw in the fact that L.J. Scott is a returner coming off of a fantastic freshman campaign, and the makings are still there for this offense to be pretty good.
Michigan State is built on its defense, though. The club allowed just 21.7 points per game last season in the high-octane Big Ten, and there were plenty of big spots where this defense just flat out shined. There are only six returners to that unit, though Malik McDowell and Riley Bullough should be anchoring a very strong front seven.
2016 Michigan State Spartans Football Schedule
September 3 – vs. Furman
September 17 – at Notre Dame
September 24 – vs. Wisconsin
October 1 – at Indiana
October 8 – vs. BYU
October 15 – vs. Northwestern
October 22 – at Maryland
October 29 – vs. Michigan
November 5 – at Illinois
November 12 – vs. Rutgers
November 19 – vs. Ohio State
November 26 – at Penn State
The schedule is just littered with potential landmines. After what should be an easy win to open the season, the Spartans travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame and come home for Wisconsin followed by a dangerous road trip to Indiana. MSU won't be 1-3 after those four games, but it wouldn't be completely unbelievable if that was to be the case. A home game with BYU is no walk in the park, and a road trip at Maryland could be a look-ahead spot to the home game with Michigan on October 29. Throw in a home date with Ohio State on November 19 and a potential Big Ten Championship Game, and this could end up being the toughest schedule in America when it's said and done.
QUICK PICK
Dantonio has proven that he can rebuild this program year after year. The Spartans are legit, and even after losing five men to the NFL, we have no doubt that they can once again be a factor in the Big Ten, especially with both Michigan and Ohio State coming to East Lansing.
That said, we do think there are some tripping points. We wouldn't be shocked if Notre Dame got Sparty early on in the year, and either Indiana or Maryland could end up pulling off an upset as well. That said, this is a solid nine-win team as we see it, and we just can't imagine a situation in which MSU only wins seven games to beat us.
College Football Odds: Michigan State Spartans Over 8 Wins
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!
