Michigan State Football: 3 reasons Spartans will upset No. 24 Miami

Picking Michigan State football to beat Northwestern in the season opener seemed like a stretch. The Wildcats were fresh off a Big Ten West title and the Spartans went 2-5 in year one of the Mel Tucker era — but that didn’t matter. Tucker had his troops ready as they raced to a 38-21 win in Week 1 and followed it up with a 42-14 victory.

Tucker has brought excitement back to the program which had been void of it since about 2017 which was the last time Michigan State won 10-plus games.

Another thing that had been missing since 2017: offense. That, too, has returned in a big way as Michigan State is averaging 553 yards and 40 points per game. Now, a real test appears in the form of Miami and the Hurricanes are favored in this one at home.

Michigan State will go on the road and beat the No. 24 team in the country, and here’s why.

3. Kenneth Walker III will have a big day

I could have made this reason a two-parter. First of all, the offensive line has been fantastic this season and it’s a big reason for all the success the Spartans have had on the ground through the first two games. That’s going to continue against a beat-up Miami team on Saturday.

I know you probably haven’t heard about it yet, but Kenneth Walker III rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries in the opener against Northwestern. He had an encore of just 57 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against Youngstown State, but heck, that’s even good for an 8.1 yards per touch average.

On the season, he’s averaging over 10 yards per carry and one touchdown every six touches. That’s an incredible stat. He’s basically a touchdown waiting to happen on any given play.

We’re going to see his explosiveness in a bigger sample size on Saturday against Miami than we saw against Youngstown State and that’s going to result in another 100-yard day. Walker III is going to set the tone early and the Spartans will use him to open up the passing attack.

Walker III will be the catalyst and the offense will continue to hum.