Michigan State Football: Preview, prediction vs. Maryland in Week 12
Michigan State football will look to bounce back against Maryland in East Lansing on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know.
Coming off the worst loss in the Mark Dantonio era, it’s going to be interesting to see how this young Michigan State football team responds. Will the Spartans come out angry and take it out on Maryland or will they be lacking confidence following the Ohio State drubbing?
Must Read: MSU Football: 5 takeaways from loss to Ohio State
It’s still too early to tell, but Michigan State seems to be a resilient team, judging by the rebounds from the first two losses of the year. After the Notre Dame loss, they went on to beat Iowa and Michigan and after losing to Northwestern, the Spartans took down Penn State.
Maryland, on the other hand, is reeling. The Terrapins started the season with a major upset of then-ranked Texas, but have since lost a couple of quarterbacks to season-ending injuries and are sitting at 4-6 and just 2-5 in Big Ten play. D.J. Durkin’s team needs to win its last two contests to attain bowl eligibility.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Michigan State vs. Maryland game online:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 18
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Spartan Stadium
TV: FOX
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go
Keys to Victory
Brian Lewerke needs to get back on track against the Maryland secondary. After a rough outing against Ohio State, the sophomore gunslinger needs a confidence-booster, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get just that. Maryland allows nearly 250 yards per game through the air, which is a good situation for Lewerke. Get him that confidence back and he also needs to make sure to protect the ball.
Defensively, shutting down the Terrapins’ run game is imperative. They have two solid running backs in Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison as well as a quarterback who can run in Max Bortenschlager. As long as the Spartans can contain the quarterback as well as keep both Harrison and Johnson in check, there should be no worry regarding the Terrapins’ offense.
Next: MSU Football: 5 overreactions from Ohio State loss
Prediction
Michigan State is going to be angry like Ohio State was a week ago. That’s bad news for the Terrapins. Fortunately for Maryland, the Spartans aren’t going to score 48 points and hold the Terrapins to three, but it will be a convincing win by Michigan State. Brian Lewerke gets back on track for 250-plus yards, LJ Scott finally breaks 100 again and Felton Davis III continues his rise to stardom in the receiving corps. Oh yeah, and the defense dominates for most of the game.
Final Score: Maryland 13, Michigan State 35