EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 20^th, the (6-1) Michigan Wolverines will be on the road to take on the (4-2) Michigan State Spartans.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Michigan 30.2 – Michigan State 23.2 with an over/under of 53.4.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Michigan 24 – Michigan State 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of Michigan 31 – Michigan State 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Michigan State 271.5 YPG > Michigan 207.0 YPG

Rushing offense: Michigan 217.0 YPG > Michigan State 123.0 YPG

Scoring offense: Michigan 38.1 PPG > Michigan State 26.2 PPG

Scoring defense: Michigan 15.4 PPG > Michigan State 22.3 PPG

Passing defense: Michigan 129.1 YPG > Michigan State 286.3 YPG

Rushing defense: Michigan State 62.3 YPG > Michigan 108.9 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Michigan +0.4 > Michigan State 0.0

Summary:

Michigan is (6-1) to start the season with wins over Western Michigan, SMU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland, and #15 Wisconsin.  Their lone defeat was a 24-17 road loss to #12 Notre Dame in week one.  Michigan was ultra-impressive in last week’s dominating 38-13 win over #15 Wisconsin in which they outgained the Badgers 444-283 in total yardage.  Quarterback Shea Patterson has completed 68% of his passes for 1,311 yards with 10 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Running back Karan Higdon has rushed for 687 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season.  Donovan Peoples-Jones leads the team in receiving touchdowns (5) and is also a game-breaking threat as a returner.  The Wolverines’ defense ranks 1^st against the pass (129.1 YPG) and 15^th against the run (108.9 YPG).  Last week Michigan was able to hold Wisconsin quarterback Alex Hornibrook to 7-20 for 100 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Michigan State is (4-2) to start the season with victories over Utah State, Indiana, Central Michigan, and #8 Penn State.  They were defeated 16-13 by Arizona State in week two and 29-19 by Northwestern in week five.  Michigan State did a tremendous job containing Trace McSorely in their huge win over #8 Penn State last week.  The Spartans rank 85^th in points per game (26.2) and 41^st in scoring defense (22.3 PPG).  Quarterback Brian Lewerke has completed 60% of his passes for 1,587 yards with 8 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  The injury status of star running back L.J. Scott is still up in the air and that’s bad news for Spartans fans.  Michigan State, as a team, is  averaging a measly 3.4 yards per carry.  Felton Davis II is coming off a monster game in the win over Penn State in which he had 100 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.  Davis II is leading the team in receiving yards (474) and touchdowns (4) on the season.   The Spartans’ defense ranks 118^th against the pass (286.3 YPG) and 1^st against the run (62.3 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Both teams are coming off signature wins as they continue to chase a Big Ten title.  It’s worth noting that Michigan has only played two road games thus far and are averaging just 18.5 points per game in those contests.  Michigan State leads the nation in stopping the run but I believe Shea Patterson will be able to exploit their secondary in ways Trace McSorely was unable to do last week.  On the flip side, a weak Spartans offense is going to have trouble scoring points against the number one defense in the country.

Michigan wins 27-14

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