Michigan State football might catch No. 10 Indiana napping in Week 11

Michigan State football has a big game against Indiana on Saturday afternoon and the Spartans may just catch the No. 10 Hoosiers off guard.

Indiana is ranked No. 10 in the country. Yes, you read that correctly, the Indiana Football Hoosiers are the 10th-best team in the nation heading into a critical Week 11 battle in East Lansing.

Michigan State is fresh off a 49-7 loss at Iowa which came one week after an upset win over No. 13 Michigan in Ann Arbor. And that? That came after a season-opening loss to Rutgers in East Lansing. So what have we learned this year? Nothing makes sense.

Indiana is 3-0 on the year and just dominated Michigan to rise to No. 10 in the rankings and while it looks like the Hoosiers may have every advantage over the Spartans in this one, the fact that Ohio State is next up on their schedule may bode well for the green and white.

Will the Spartans catch Indiana looking ahead to a huge top-10 battle in Week 12?

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s game:

Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Venue: Spartan Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

If Michigan State wants to beat the Hoosiers, they’ll have to get in a rhythm offensively with Rocky Lombardi and if that means taking some deep shots, that has to be it. Indiana’s secondary hasn’t played the greatest this season, allowing over 230 yards per game through the air so attacking that weakness on the defensive side of the ball with speedsters like Jalen Nailor, Ricky White and Jayden Reed would be wise.

On the other side, the obvious key would be containing Michael Penix Jr. and not allowing him to dink and dunk all over the secondary. He can run so keeping a spy on him at all times is important but also not giving up those 5-10 yard passes all the way down the field which will wear the Spartans down will only benefit this defense. Make him beat you deep.

Prediction

I’ve said it ever since the final whistle of the Iowa loss: Michigan State is going to upset Indiana. It’s 2020 and nothing makes sense right now so the Spartans, who lost to Rutgers and then beat No. 13 Michigan on the road, are only due for another confusing game against a ranked opponent. Two bad losses and two really good wins? Sounds about right for this season.

Final Score: Indiana 27, Michigan State 30