During the offseason, Jim Harbaugh landed the quarterback he needed to get the Michigan Wolverines over the mediocre hump. Last week he got the signature victory to put UM in the middle of the Big Ten race. Criticized for not winning a meaningful game in league play, Harbaugh and the Wolverines remained undefeated in the B1G with a big win over Wisconsin. Another mammoth matchup in the East is on top for Saturday when UM pays a visit to the Michigan State Spartans
Watch this Week 8 matchup live on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 12 p.m. ET at Spartan Stadium.
Opening College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Michigan Wolverines -6.5
Michigan State Spartans +6.5
Over/Under (Check Back Later)
Even though the Wolverines dominated their opponents during a five-game winning streak, there were some questions as to just how good they were. After all, they hadn’t faced the stiffest competition since dropping their opener on the road to a legitimate Notre Dame squad. Beating teams like Western Michigan, SMU and Maryland is much different than getting a victory over a strong, ranked opponent like Wisconsin.
UM looked just as dangerous on Saturday, though, in their thumping of No. 15 Wisconsin, giving the Wolverines their first win over a ranked conference foe in two years. The maize and blue rode the nation’s top ranked defense and the play of Shea Patterson to the 38-13 victory to keep them on pace for a showdown with Ohio State at the end of the year. The Wolverines allowed Jonathan Taylor, the nation’s leader rusher, only 101 yards and limited the Badgers to 283 total yards and a season-low 13 points.
Counted out of the race following an inexplicable loss to Northwestern, the Spartans showed they aren’t going down without a fight. Playing as a two-touchdown underdog on the road at Penn State, Sparty went for broke and came away with a win to keep their chances alive. MSU will be a dog again this week getting 6.5-points on the opening college football betting lines. That’s probably not a bad thing for the Spartans. They were laying points in their first three home games and failed to cover each time while losing outright as a 10.5-point favorite to Northwestern two weeks ago.
Taylor and Wisconsin had a hard time denting Michigan’s defense last week and it’s difficult to expect the Spartans to have much success. LJ Scott was absent from the lineup again last week and his status for this one is up in the air, further hurting MSU’s chances of amassing yardage. MSU managed only 123 yards and 3.4 yards per rush against Penn State. Sparty will attempt to run the football, however they won’t be successful and going against their yardage total on the live betting line at BookMaker.eu is a smart play.
While Michigan’s defense has been spectacular, the offense has been a surprise. One area that held the team back the past few seasons was quarterback play, and Harbaugh sought out his guy to change all that, landing Patterson as a transfer over the summer. There was no competition and Patterson was handed the job, and he’s done everything needed. The Wolverines don’t throw the ball a lot, but they need Patterson to have success when needed. He’s completed 68.6 percent of his throws for over 1,300 yards with 10 touchdowns and only three picks. His scoring passes are more than the team threw all of last season.
The Wolverines average 38.1 points and have been explosive after tallying a season-low in their 24-17 loss to Notre Dame in the opener. UM has played over the total in four of its last five games despite having the ninth-ranked scoring defense in the country, and playing the adjusted lines on the live betting feature will secure more winnings.
Michigan at Michigan State Live Betting
Michigan State pulled out all the stops last week, faking a field goal and going for the win when they could’ve settled for the game-tying points instead. Expect more of the same from the Spartans this week since they’ll need some help to pull off another upset. I expect the Wolverines to be ready for the trickeration, and if unsuccessful, the scoring line will drop below the projected total. And if Michigan gets the early lead, expect the hammer to drop, leaving Sparty searching for answers. MSU isn’t capable of playing catch up against a defense like UM’s, so hit the line hard in favor of the visitors on the in-game betting feature to increase your payout.
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