Michigan State Football: Way-too-early 2018 preview vs. Rutgers

Rutgers travels to Michigan State on Nov. 24. While the Scarlet Knights did improve in 2017 under coach Chris Ash, they still may not have the athletes to compete.

This is a way-too-early preview of the Rutgers versus Michigan State game. This preview does not take into consideration departures and depth chart changes that can happen over the course of a season. Also, with this being the final game of the regular season there will be players on both sides with some injuries.

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If the season goes the way Michigan State hopes, they could be in line for a Big Ten Championship and could be potentially be resting a few players.

Rutgers finished 4-8 last season and it could have won a few more games that it was in. The Scarlet Knights were able to topple the surging Purdue Boilermakers. But they laid a goose egg against Indiana and Ohio State.

The Scarlet Knights bring back sophomore Johnathan Lewis. However, there has been a quarterback battle in New Jersey. Lewis has taken snaps with the second team. While true freshman quarterback Artur Sitkowski and redshirt senior Gio Rescigno have been vying for time as well. This could be a battle that plays out during the season. Chris Ash clearly needs production out of his quarterback in order for this offense to flow.

There are some winnable games on Rutgers’ schedule, however, there are also some difficult ones and the Scarlet Knights do not have all the experienced athletes to compete with the big dogs of the East division at this time. If Ash is given some time then it would be a different story.

Prediction: Michigan State 45, Rutgers 14. The Spartans will be coming off a loss at Nebraska and this is a great bounce back game for them. What will their record be at the end of the season? I predict it they will be 11-1 and a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship.