Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Spartans will beat Northwestern in Week 9

Michigan State Football: 5 reasons the Spartans will beat Northwestern in Week 9

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 14: Brian Lewerke #14 of the Michigan State Spartans hands off the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the game on October 14, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Spartans defeated the Gophers 30-27. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – OCTOBER 21: Running back LJ Scott #3 of the Michigan State Spartans high-steps into the end zone to score against the Indiana Hoosiers on an 18-yard run during the fourth quarter at Spartan Stadium on October 21, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State defeated Indiana 17-9. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

4. LJ Scott will have a big day

Two games removed from the best game of his three-year Michigan State career, LJ Scott is going to have yet another elite showing on the road in the Big Ten — this time against Northwestern. The Wildcats come into the game with the 25th-best run defense in the country, but the Spartans are going enforce the run game early on.

Scott may not get the start, again, but the junior running back will come in and dominate when he’s called on. He’s going to get stuffed on his first few carries between the tackles, but the play-calling will surprisingly improve.

In fact, he will get more pitches to the long side of the field like he did against Minnesota, giving him more room to figure out where he wants to run and which holes to hit. That’s the one play that continued to work against the Golden Gophers and the Spartans will go back to it.

Run plays up the middle on first and second down consistently don’t seem to work anymore, so mixing things up will lead to another 100-yard performance from Scott.

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