Michigan State Football: 3 advantages Spartans have over No. 6 Michigan

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Michigan State’s Payton Thorne rolls out on a pass play against Western Kentucky during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.211002 Msu Wku Fb 177a /

2. Passing game vs. Michigan’s secondary

When looking at the key matchups for Saturday’s game, there is one that stands out to be in clear favor of Michigan State.

Here are the five matchups to watch:

Michigan State’s defensive front vs. Michigan’s offensive line and backs
Michigan’s defensive front vs. MSU’s offensive line and backs
Michigan State’s secondary vs. Michigan’s passing attack
Michigan’s secondary vs. MSU’s passing attack
Special teams

If you were to guess which one of those is heavily in Michigan State’s favor, what would you say? For me, the obvious answer is No. 4. Michigan State has had a pleasantly surprising passing attack this season, averaging about 250 yards per game through the air behind Payton Thorne who is arguably the second-best quarterback in the conference.

The receivers have been stars as well. Thorne has built a solid rapport with Jalen Nailor and Jayden Reed and even Tre Mosley has entered the mix.

We saw Michigan’s secondary struggle with Michigan State’s receivers last year and while they might be improved this season, they haven’t seen anyone like the Spartans yet. Plus, Michigan State torched Michigan’s secondary with a freshman wideout and a shaky starting quarterback in 2020. The Spartans have improved in both regards this year.

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