Saturday night’s Michigan vs. Michigan State football game marks the latest in the rivalry’s history, and it’s a chance for the Wolverines to extend their winning streak to four games over the Spartans.
Michigan State hasn’t beaten Michigan since 2021, and Jonathan Smith feels his seat getting warmer and he knows that he’ll need a win in this game to save his job.
Let’s get bold.
1. Aidan Chiles out-duels Bryce Underwood
Aidan Chiles is fresh off arguably his best game of the season, throwing for just under 250 yards with another 48 rushing yards and one touchdown. He looked like a more-than-capable passer, and shrugged off the two previous forgettable outings against Nebraska and UCLA.
Bryce Underwood, a true freshman with plenty of hype, has been solid this season and he doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, but he seems to struggle on the road.
Michigan fans would tell you that they would take Underwood over Chiles 100 out of 100 times, but the Spartan dual-threat is going to prove the doubters wrong on Saturday night with over 250 total yards and three touchdowns to Underwood’s 200 total yards and one score.
2. MSU doesn’t allow a 100-yard rusher
On only one occasion this season, Michigan has failed to field a 100-yard rusher. Justice Haynes has played in six games, and he’s recorded 100-plus in five of them. Jordan Marshall replaced the injured Haynes against Washington, and he, too, rushed for over 100 yards. So in six games, Michigan has had at least one 100-yard rusher.
That’ll remain at six on Saturday night.
Michigan State’s defense will step up in the run game which has been the strength for the Wolverines’ offense this season, and it’ll hold Haynes (if healthy) and Marshall under 100 yards.
3. MSU pulls off the upset
This is probably going to get me fried if the Spartans aren’t able to pull off the upset, but it feels like Jonathan Smith is taking this game far more seriously than he did last season, and the team seems to be echoing the same sentiment with former players coming to speak to the team about the importance of this game.
Michigan State is going to race out to a 7-0 lead after getting the ball first, and then Michigan will punch back with a couple of scores. The game will be within one score throughout.
Michigan is a 13.5-point favorite, but the Spartans are not only going to cover, but great games from Chiles and Nick Marsh will lead them to a huge win, carrying both Smith and the Paul Bunyan Trophy off the field in celebration at around 10 p.m. ET.