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Michigan State football: 3 bold predictions vs. No. 16 Illinois in Week 10

By Connor Muldowney

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 29: Payton Thorne #10 of the Michigan State Spartans looks to pass the ball during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - OCTOBER 29: Payton Thorne #10 of the Michigan State Spartans looks to pass the ball during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on October 29, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne (10) looks to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes during first half action at Spartan Stadium Saturday, October 8, 2022.Msuosu 100822 Kd 0013224
Michigan State Spartans quarterback Payton Thorne (10) looks to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes during first half action at Spartan Stadium Saturday, October 8, 2022.Msuosu 100822 Kd 0013224 /

2. Payton Thorne throws for over 200 yards

Only two quarterbacks have thrown for over 200 yards against Illinois this year, if you can believe that. The first was Connor Bazelak of Indiana in the Hoosiers’ win over the Illini in Week 2 and the other was Graham Mertz in a blowout home loss by Wisconsin.

Payton Thorne will be the third.

Fortunately for Michigan State, it has somewhat of a decent passing attack even though Thorne has been less than impressive this year. He has a handful of really talented targets to utilize, including Keon Coleman, Jayden Reed, and Daniel Barker. He’s going to make sure to take advantage of some athletic mismatches and hurl some jump-balls to his top targets.

I think we’ll see Coleman go over 100 yards again and Barker is going to have a solid game against his former team. The duo of Coleman and Reed is the best that the Illini have seen all year so we’re going to see how these defensive backs handle that challenge.

While 200 yards may not seem like a lot, Illinois doesn’t give up that kind of production often. It will this week.

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