Facing No. 3 Indiana on Saturday afternoon is not exactly Michigan State football fans wanted to see after losing 38-13 to the 1-4 UCLA Bruins at home in Week 7.
The Spartans feel like they’re ready to mail it in on the season, and Jonathan Smith may be coaching his last game with the Spartans (if rumors hold true), but a solid performance against the No. 3 team in the country could change the outlook of the program. Obviously an upset win would surely save Smith’s job, and likely get fans to buy back in — just a little bit.
But that’s something that no one is expecting, including Spartan fans. Indiana just upset No. 3 Oregon on the road last week and the Hoosiers look like the best team in the country right now.
Anything can happen, though. So let’s get bold ahead of Saturday’s showdown in Bloomington.
1. Nick Marsh eclipses 100 yards
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before this happens, and after leading the team in receiving last week in a loss to UCLA, Nick Marsh has gotten a little confidence back.
It’s been a bit of a tumultuous season for the sophomore receiver because, well, he hasn’t quite been on the same page as Aidan Chiles (see: the USC game). That’s going to change on Saturday afternoon against one of the best defenses in the country. The Hoosiers will struggle to contain him as he almost single-handedly leads the passing attack.
Marsh will record his first 100-yard game of the season, catching eight passses for 101 yards and a touchdown. This is going to do wonders for his confidence ahead of Hate Week.
2. Alessio Milivojevic plays the entire second half
Aidan Chiles is listed as “probable” for Saturday’s game at Indiana, which means that he’s still nursing an injury he suffered against UCLA, and in my opinion, he hasn’t been right since that first-half injury that he suffered at Nebraska. I do think he’s dealing with an injury that’s hurting his overall play, so we’re going to see Alessio Milivojevic come in if he’s even hinting at an ailment.
The game won’t be quite out of hand at halftime, but Jonathan Smith and Co. will opt to make the change to Milivojevic in order to preserve Chiles in the long-term.
The offense may respond favorably to having a healthy quarterback under center, and I think the Spartans will become the second team this season to score 20 on the Hoosiers.
3. Michigan State covers
I’m not going to count this as a moral victory, because a program like Michigan State should be way too proud to even be 27.5-point underdogs to a program like Indiana. But here we are.
Michigan State is expected to keep it just within four scores, but I think the Spartans keep it within 20, and actually surprise some people, pulling within a touchdown at one point in the third quarter before Indiana steps on the gas and runs away with it.
The spread is four touchdowns, but Michigan State loses this one 44-25.