If you’re looking for an old-school Big Ten matchup on Saturday evening, Michigan State vs Nebraska may just be for you. The Spartans are 2-1 on the year after beating a couple of MAC teams and losing to Notre Dame while Nebraska is 3-0 with all three victories coming against inferior opponents.
Pat Fitzgerald has Michigan State in a good spot through three games with experts projecting the Spartans to make a bowl game. No one expected to see this type of excitement and optimism this early into the Fitzgerald era, but here we are.
Nebraska has seen a bit of a resurgence under Matt Rhule, on the other hand, and it looks like the Cornhuskers, even without Dylan Raiola, are trending in the right direction for the first time in years.
The Cornhuskers are entering Saturday’s game as a road favorite which is rare for a couple of unranked Big Ten teams. The line has remained pretty much constant all week.
Note: Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of Sept. 26.
Line: Nebraska -5.5
Over/Under: 49.5
Moneyline: Nebraska -225 | Michigan State +185
As you can see, the Spartans are fairly healthy underdogs at home against the Cornhuskers but this isn’t a bad spot to be. Fitzgerald is going to utilize this as a “people don’t believe in you” motivational speech before the game and probably at halftime, too. This team has been feeding off Fitzgerald’s energy and it’s about time we see the Spartans piece together four full quarters.
Nick Sheridan is going to have to call a perfect game to keep up with this explosive Nebraska offense.
Predicting the Michigan State vs Nebraska game
Nebraska has been really good against the pass this season but Alessio Milivojevic is the best quarterback the Cornhuskers have seen thus far.
The Cornhuskers have been decent against the run (39th nationally) but that’s not all that impressive when you consider their opponents. The Spartans are going to punch first against the Cornhuskers and force them to adjust. The game will go back-and-forth for most of the evening but Michigan State will get the last laugh with a last-minute field goal by Liam Boyd.
Michigan State gets the better of the Cornhuskers to improve to 3-1 on the season and win their first conference game of the Fitzgerald era.
Final score: Nebraska 24, Michigan State 27
Add us as a preferred source on Google