MICHIGAN ST vs ARIZONA ST
When: 9/8/2018 10:45 PM
Where:

TV: 10:45 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: ARIZONA ST , MICHIGAN ST

Oddsmakers currently have the ARIZONA ST listed as point favorites versus the MICHIGAN ST, while the game’s total is sitting at .

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UTAH ST vs MICHIGAN ST
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, August 31, 2018
Where: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: -22.5
PREDICTION: MICHIGAN ST , UTAH ST

Oddsmakers currently have the MICHIGAN ST listed as -22.5 point favorites versus the UTAH ST, while the game’s total is sitting at 49.5.

No. 12 Michigan State enters this season with hopes of contending for a Big Ten title and possibly a national championship, but will have to prove it on the field starting with a home game versus Utah State on Friday night. Coach Mark Dantonio returns 19 of 22 starters from last season’s 10-3 campaign including junior quarterback Brian Lewerke, who threw for 2,793 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2017.

The Spartans’ offense features a number of playmakers, led by senior running back LJ Scott (898 yards, eight touchdowns on the ground in 2017) and senior receiver Felton Davis III (55 catches, 776 yards, nine touchdowns last season). Defensively, Michigan State may be even better, having allowed only 20 points per game in 2017 and returning nearly every starter. Junior linebacker Joe Bachie is the leader for Dantonio’s defense, having paced the Spartans in tackles (100) and forced fumbles (two), and earning team MVP honors a season ago. The Aggies return 18 starters and could provide some troubles if the Michigan State offense isn’t sharp, having ranked tied for sixth in the nation in 2017 with 29 forced turnovers.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network. LINE: Michigan State -23.5

ABOUT UTAH STATE (2017: 6-7): The Aggies’ quarterback duties are sophomore Jordan Love’s this season, after he displaced then-senior Kent Myers partway through the 2017 campaign, finishing with 1,631 yards and eight touchdowns through the air. Love has had an offseason to better learn coach Matt Wells’ system, and he’ll have plenty of experienced targets to look for in the passing game. The biggest question is how well the Aggies can protect the passer – something the team has struggled with over the past few years – though Love is nimble on his feet and has shown the ability to pick up yards on the ground when he needs.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (2017: 10-3): Despite his team-high rushing yards in 2017, Scott – and many around the team – viewed his junior season as a disappointment, considering he rushed for 96 more yards on 17 fewer carries as a sophomore. The Spartans juggled three running backs in 2017 but this season, Scott should get the bulk of the carries and is hoping to avoid the fumble troubles that plagued him as a junior. Having a more experienced Lewerke under center will make defenses have to respect the Spartans’ passing game more, so Scott may be able to find more holes and finally get his first collegiate 1,000-yard rushing campaign.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Lewerke became the first quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,500 yards and rush for more than 500 (559) in 2017.

2. The Spartans have won 19 straight home openers and are 10-1 under Dantonio in season-opening contests.

3. Michigan State’s defense ranked No. 2 in FBS in rushing defense in 2017, allowing 95.3 yards per contest.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 42, Utah State 17

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Wisconsin Badgers vs Michigan State Spartans
When: 4:00 PM  ET, Sunday, February 26, 2017
Where: Jack Breslin Student Events Center, East Lansing, Michigan

TV: 4 p.m. ET, CBS
LINE: 1.5
PREDICTION: Wisconsin 72, Michigan State 69

Oddsmakers currently have the Michigan State Spartans listed as 1.5 point favorites versus the Wisconsin Badgers, while the game’s total is sitting at 130.

Michigan State looks to continue its push toward an NCAA Tournament bid when it hosts reeling No. 15 Wisconsin in a key Big Ten Conference contest on Sunday. Losers of three of their last four, the Badgers enter the matchup just one-half game behind Purdue for first place in the conference standings, while the Spartans are coming off a win on Thursday that has them within one-half game of a three-way tie for fourth in the league.

Ethan Happ is Mr. Everything for the Badgers, leading the team in scoring (15.6 points), rebounding (8.3), assists (2.9), blocks (1.5) and steals (2.6) during conference play to make him the only player in the nation to top his team in all five categories in league action. Happ (14.4 points, 8.9 rebounds on the season) and Nigel Hayes (13.4, six) really could dominate in the paint, where Michigan State is lacking in size. Coach Tom Izzo’s squad does rely on its freshman forwards, as Miles Bridges (16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Nick Ward (13.1, 5.9) are the team’s top two scorers and rebounders. But the key for the Spartans will be cutting down on turnovers, which means point guards Tum Tum Nairn (3.8 assists) and Cassius Winston (5.4) must handle the ball cleanly against Wisconsin’s hard-nosed defense.

ABOUT WISCONSIN (22-6, 11-4 Big Ten): Although the Badgers weren’t happy with the result of their last contest – a loss to Ohio State – the silver lining was the breaking out of a slump by Bronson Koenig. The senior guard found his shot again, matching his career high with 27 points, while passing Ben Brust as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers. Koenig had gone 8-of-36 from beyond the arc over his previous six games – having sat out a loss to Michigan on Feb. 16 with a calf injury – but was 5-of-9 against the Buckeyes, raising the hopes of those around the program that he’s ready to be the deadly shooter he was before his slump just in time for March.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (17-11, 9-6): With Eron Harris sidelined for the season with a knee injury, fellow senior Alvin Ellis III has been thrust into the starting lineup for the Spartans just as his collegiate career is coming to an end. Ellis showed his nerves while making just the third start of his tenure with Michigan State against Nebraska, shooting just 1-of-6, although he did finish with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Ellis has been one of the most consistent shooters for Izzo in Big Ten play, so he’ll need to get used to starting in a hurry, even though his final game at the Breslin Center against Wisconsin could bring even more nerves.

TIP-INS
1. Wisconsin has been outscored in the paint just five times this season, going 1-4 in those contests.
2. Freshman G Joshua Langford had his best game as a Spartan against Nebraska, scoring a career-high 17 points while matching his personal best with five rebounds.
3. Michigan State and Wisconsin both have a rebound margin of plus-1.9 in Big Ten play.

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MICHIGAN ST vs PENN ST
When: 11/26/2016 3:30 PM

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Penn State -12.5
PREDICTION: Penn State 27, Michigan State 20

They’ll probably try to avoid it, but no one can blame members of Penn State’s football team if they are playing a little scoreboard-watching during warm-ups Saturday.

Three-and-a-half hours before the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten) take the field for their Senior Day finale against Michigan State (3-8, 1-7), there is a pretty significant conference game taking place at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, between No. 3 Michigan (10-1, 7-1) and No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1).

If the favored Buckeyes take care of business and defeat the Wolverines for the 12th time in 13 years, Penn State will take the field with a chance to go to the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis by virtue of its dramatic 24-21 comeback win over Ohio State earlier this season. However, Michigan, which defeated the Nittany Lions 49-10 back on Sept. 24 at the Big House, owns the tiebreaker if it can upset the Buckeyes.

Penn State was just 2-2 after that ugly loss in Ann Arbor and some restless Nittany Lions fans were calling for head coach James Franklin to be fired. But seven consecutive Big Ten wins, including one that featured a 17-point fourth quarter and 14-point comeback against Ohio State, has changed the atmosphere in State College dramatically.

“It’s surreal,” defensive end Evan Schwan said. “I never thought as a freshman that we’d be in the position we are now. I’m very proud of everyone on the team, the fans and staff for sticking with us and working through the tough times.”

Schwan knows all about those times. He was an underclassmen during the toughest years in program history, when the NCAA levied brutal sanctions — banning the team from a bowl game for two years, gutting its scholarship counts and allowing players to transfer without having to sit out.

Now, Schwan is one of 12 seniors who are helping lead the way and getting crucial contributions from their younger teammates who have elevated their game in what’s been a dominant run since their last loss to the Wolverines.

An offensive turnaround under first-year coordinator Joe Moorhead has reaped massive reward. The defense has done the same with two of its biggest pieces — linebackers Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell back.

Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions aren’t erring on special teams and are winning second halves every week.

They’ll try to continue those trends against a Michigan State team that has gone the other way. The Spartans won the Big Ten title last season but haven’t been able to ride a youth movement like the Nittany Lions. Michigan State has started nine true freshmen this season and will likely be without top defensive lineman Malik McDowell again in this one.

“Obviously, this is a unique situation,” Franklin, who went 6-6 and 7-5 in his first two seasons at Penn State, said. “Like I mentioned before, we’re tough to beat at home when that stadium is rocking with 107,000. We’re going to need that on Saturday.”

Michigan State has shown that it won’t go down easily. The Spartans nearly upset Ohio State last week at home, losing 17-16 after failing to convert a go-ahead two-point conversion with 4:41 remaining. Running back LJ Scott continues to play his best football, running for a career-high 160 yards and a touchdown against the Buckeyes while also catching a 64-yard touchdown pass. The sophomore has run for more than 100 yards in four of the last five games.

“There are positives out there,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “There are a lot of positives and we’re a very young football team in a lot of respects, but it doesn’t help ease the pain when you lose and you lose close.”

Michigan State has led in every game it has played this season but still finds itself at 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the Big Ten heading into the finale at Penn State. Last week’s loss to Ohio State was no different as missed opportunities and a handful of crucial penalties kept the Spartans from the win.

The failure to convert the two-point conversion in the fourth quarter was just one example of not executing down the stretch and it was followed by a sack and interception in the last minute.

“I think we’ve had chances throughout every football game we’ve played this year,” Dantonio said. “We’ve been ahead, and then something’s happened. That’s the game. We gotta be able to make plays at the end of a football game, this one’s no different.”

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