Michigan State Football: 5 reasons Spartans will upset No. 6 Michigan

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Felton Davis III #18 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Connor Heyward #11 of the Michigan State Spartans after catching a 25 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

1. Spartans thrive in underdog role

It’s no secret that Michigan State likes to play as an underdog. The Spartans thrive in the underdog role and that’s not going to change on Saturday.

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If you’ve read anything from the national media regarding this matchup, you’d think Michigan State has no chance. All of ESPN’s experts are predicting a Michigan win, Kirk Herbstreit, too, is high on the Wolverines and the ESPN FPI has them as a near-70 percent favorite to come away from the Michigan State matchup with a win.

All that does is take pressure off Michigan State and place it directly on the backs of the Wolverines and head coach Jim Harbaugh.

If anyone has to be feeling the heat prior to this battle, it’s Harbaugh. He is just 1-5 against his two biggest rivals through three seasons and a loss to Michigan State and Mark Dantonio would make him 1-3 against the Spartans. That would surely send the fan base into an uproar and potentially engineer hot seat talks.

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Michigan State is ranked 24th after a strong win in Happy Valley where it proved it can hang with anyone in the Big Ten while Michigan is No. 6 with six straight wins. The underdog role is welcomed by the Spartans and they’ll play with that chip while Harbaugh will feel the pressure and that may cause some bone-headed coaching decisions.

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