Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Spartans will beat No. 13 Ohio State

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EAST LANSING, MI – NOVEMBER 04: Felton Davis III #18 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates his second half touchdown with teammates while playing the Penn State Nittany Lions at Spartan Stadium on November 4, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1. Having 26 players from Ohio helps

There are 26 players from Ohio on the Spartans’ roster and just as I alluded to with Joe Bachie, this team cares about this game. During a 3-9 campaign, they still managed to play great against Ohio State. This team loves to beat the Buckeyes and they will give every effort to do it.

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The players in the past have said they want to win this game for the Ohio guys just as those guys want the win when they play Michigan. The players this week have down played the rivalry but the motivation is real. Mark Dantonio has been great at playing the disrespect card and he was given a huge boost when Vegas listed Ohio State as a huge favorite.

These players grew up watching Ohio State and like Bachie and Connor Cook, they went home and had to hear about OSU beating them. Michigan is MSU’s main rival, but this game has become a new rivalry in the East division and it has given us classic games over the past few years.

MSU will be ready and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer will circle the wagons and have his team ready. However, Meyer has seemingly not had his finger on the pulse of these Buckeyes. He said last week that they practiced well and he could not see a sign of complacency yet they went to Iowa and got punched in the face.

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Meyer is one of the best coaches in the nation and he recruits the best as well. It was odd to watch that game. Vegas is betting on Meyer’s ability to get his players back on track. I am betting that MSU will want this game more.

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