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Michigan State Football: 5 bold prediction vs. Arizona State in Week 2

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - AUGUST 31: Cody White #7 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates his first half touchdown with LJ Scott #3 while playing the Utah State Aggies at Spartan Stadium on August 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - AUGUST 31: Cody White #7 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates his first half touchdown with LJ Scott #3 while playing the Utah State Aggies at Spartan Stadium on August 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football travels to the desert to take on Saturday night to take on the high-powered offense of Arizona State. Can the Spartans survive?

Get your caffeinated beverages ready, Michigan State is headed west for a late-night Pac-12 After Dark matchup with Arizona State. This duel in the desert could be far more terrifying for the Spartans than they thought possible when the season began.

Herm Edwards wasn’t supposed to have the type of opener he did against UTSA as his Sun Devils blew out the Roadrunners, 49-7.

The Arizona State offense looked fantastic, namely Manny Wilkins, Eno Benjamin and N’Keal Harry. If the Spartans can hold that offense in check, they should be able to come away with a big, important win in Tempe — it would be the Big Ten’s first-ever victory at Arizona State.

Take a look at our five bold predictions for Saturday’s matchup.

5. Spartans hold Sun Devils to under 75 yards rushing

In their first game of the season against UTSA, the Sun Devils finished with 266 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 36 carries — yes, that’s 7.4 yards per touch.

Arizona State hasn’t been the type of team to run the ball a whole lot over the years, but Herm Edwards is putting an emphasis on the ground game and it paid major dividends in the opener.

Eno Benjamin broke out for 131 yards on 16 carries, nearly surpassing his rushing total from his entire freshman season in one game. He’s a force to be reckoned with, but the Spartans will hod him and the rest of the Sun Devils in check as the front-seven clogs holes once again.

Utah State was only able to muster 25 rushing yards on 25 carries and we can expect some of the same results here. Arizona State will finish with just 72 yards on 28 carries as the sparkling run defense dominates yet again.

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