Saturday night’s Michigan State vs Maryland game could end up being the last of the Jonathan Smith era, and all eyes will be on J Batt as he makes a decision following the season finale.
While we likely won’t hear anything about Smith’s immediate future until Sunday, but a loss would seemingly be the end of him at Michigan State — or at least you’d think. The Spartans are 3-8 on the season and have found new ways to lose every week, including an inexplicable meltdown at Iowa last Saturday afternoon.
Maryland, too, has had a disappointing season, but it set what could be an unfortunate precedent that Michigan State might follow. The Terrapins opted to bring Mike Locksley back for another season to prove himself, and Michigan State may decide to go the same route.
The Terrapins opted to bring him back despite having a disappointing season, sitting at 4-7 with just a single Big Ten win. They could prevent Michigan State from recording a conference victory, and this would be the first 0-9 Big Ten record in program history. That’s not exactly the kind of history you want to make.
Does Vegas see the Spartans picking up their first win? That answer might surprise you.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Saturday, Nov. 29.
Line: Michigan State -4
Over/Under: 49.5
Moneyline: Michigan State -192 | Maryland +160
The line is actually kind of surprising even though Maryland is on the same level as Michigan State this season in terms of struggles. The Terrapins haven’t been very competitive against anyone with a pulse, and while Michigan State may not have much of a pulse, it’s at least had opportunities to wins games against the likes of Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Iowa.
What do I see happening on Saturday? That’s honestly a good question, but I’d probably go with a Michigan State win. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, by any means, but the Spartans are due for one of these close games to go their way. Maryland is arguably the most beatable Big Ten team that they’ve played all year, and they want to win for Smith.