Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Spartans will lose to Penn State in Week 10
By Stephen Robb
![EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 28: Members of the Michigan State Spartans walk off of the field after a loss to the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 39-31 in triple overtime.(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 28: Members of the Michigan State Spartans walk off of the field after a loss to the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 28, 2017 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern defeated Michigan State 39-31 in triple overtime.(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/d3bc3727c9d795a978ad4392dec42efd2e719cf71e20bbb6d997adb556059d6e.jpg)
Michigan State football will take on Penn State Saturday in East Lansing. Penn State is ranked No. 7 in the nation and presents a formidable foe.
During Mark Dantonio’s tenure at Michigan State, he has done extremely well against ranked opponents. However, this PSU team is stacked with talent. Personally, I do not believe the Spartans can pull this win out Saturday, yet I do believe that they can beat Ohio State the next week considering all the talent from Ohio they have — I’m getting ahead of myself.
Michigan State lost to Northwestern last week and Penn State fell in a surprise upset to Ohio State. The Spartans are playing better than last year’s squad that went to Happy Valley only to lose 45-12. They put up a great effort for a half but could not contain the Nittany Lions.
The story of that game was MSU’s inability to finish drives. They had four good drives in the first half but were unable to get touchdowns.
The Land Grant Trophy is on the line this week. Can the Spartans reclaim it or will the Nittany Lions continue to hold? Here are five reasons MSU will lose to Penn State.
5. Saquon Barkley is too much
Saquon Barkley is the most dangerous player in college football. He can burn teams on kickoffs, like he did against Ohio State, break your ankles with his cuts and is an excellent receiver out of the backfield.
Michigan State contained Northwestern’s Justin Jackson, however, he was able to shimmy and shake his way for key yards the Wildcats late in that game. It will have to be a full game effort from the Spartans to contain Barkley.
Ohio State did a fantastic job of containing him, he had 21 carries on 44 yards. Can the Spartans contain him for a second straight week? That I highly doubt. Michigan State would have to defensively play its best football of the season. This team is young and perhaps still a year away from competing at a high level.