Michigan State vs Purdue: Game preview, prediction

Non-conference play is now over and Michigan State is ready to face a Big Ten opponent for the first time this season when Purdue comes to town. The Boilermakers are just 1-3 on the young season and coming off a loss to Bowling Green at home while the Spartans are 4-0 and coming off a relatively close home win against Central Michigan.

Saturday’s Michigan State vs Purdue game isn’t expected to be very close, but Boilermakers’ head coach Darrell Hazell thinks that he has the plan to upset the Spartans.

Let’s preview the game and predict the score.

Offense

Sep 19, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Connor Cook (18) hands the ball off to Michigan State Spartans running back Madre London (28) during the 1st quarter of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Purdue, like many teams Michigan State has already played, has a solid offense, but the run game just isn’t very impressive, but watch out for Markell Jones when he gets in space — he averages 6.5 yards per carry.

Redshirt freshman quarterback David Blough will be getting his second start in this one after taking over for Austin Appleby and he might be the best thing to happen to this offense in a while. Junior receiver DeAngelo Yancey is also a major threat on offense, catching 13 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns this year.

Danny Anthrop, though, is the most sure-handed receiver and can potentially be the most dangerous.

Connor Cook has yet to really put a full game together, but this might be the perfect game to do so. The senior quarterback is the king of protecting the football, however, throwing nine touchdown passes and just one interception on the year.

Aaron Burbridge seems to be the only receiving making any noise right now. There had been high hopes for AJ Troup, R.J. Shelton and DeAnthony Arnett, but no one has stepped up. Monty Madaris is now 100 percent healthy and could be just what the doctor ordered.

As for the run game, the two-headed monster of true freshman L.J. Scott and redshirt freshman Madre London have been solid this year, but needed the assistance of Gerald Holmes to bail them out last week. We could soon see a three-tiered attack.

Advantage: Michigan State

Defense

Sep 26, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans defensive end Shilique Calhoun (89) reacts to a play during the 2nd half of a game at Spartan Stadium. MSU won 30-10. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Defensively, the Boilermakers aren’t all too impressive, giving up 41, 51 and 35 points in losses to Marshall, Virginia Tech and Bowling Green, respectively.

Purdue’s run defense ranks 78th in the country while the passing defense ranks 100th, giving up about 266 yards per contest. Also, the Purdue secondary has allowed the sixth-most completions of any team in the country, making it look like a possible field day for Connor Cook.

However, the Boilers do get solid pressure on the quarterback, recording 11 sacks on the year. Michigan State’s offensive line has their work cut out for them.

The Spartans, on the other hand, have one of the top-10 pass-rushing defensive lines in the nation, recording 15 sacks in four games — more like three games since Air Force only dropped back for a pass nine times.

Shilique Calhoun has been a monster on the line while Riley Bullough has been a stud at linebacker, recording 46 total tackles and 3.0 sacks of his own. The secondary is where the real problem lies, though.

Michigan State’s defensive backs have struggled this year and, like Purdue’s, they might be in for a long day on Saturday — once again.

Advantage: Michigan State

Special Teams

Sep 6, 2015; Huntington, WV, USA; Purdue Boilermakers kicker Paul Griggs (37) kicks a field goal in the third quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State might actually hold the upper hand in this category as well. The Boilermakers have allowed a punt return for a touchdowns this season — much like the Spartans — as well as an 82-yard kickoff return.

We may think that Michael Geiger has struggled in the kicking game, but we don’t have to deal with quite the same inconsistency as Purdue’s senior kicker Paul Griggs. He has made just 3-of-8 field goals, missing two from 40-49 yards, two from 30-39 yards and one from under 19 yards. It’s been a season to forget for Griggs.

Geiger has missed a couple of field goals and had an extra point blocked, but he also does have the potential to be a booming 40/50-plus yard field goal specialist.

Jake Hartbarger is going to be the best punter in this one while both coverage units are mediocre, at best.

Final Score: Purdue 17, Michigan State 35

Next: 5 reasons 5-star SF Miles Bridges will commit to MSU

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