Michigan State at Nebraska Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

The No. 10 Michigan State Spartans will look to take complete control of the Big Ten Legends Division when they go on the road to take on the No. 13 Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Spartans are coming off a remarkable 37-31 win over then No. 6 Wisconsin. Michigan State improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 inside the conference. The Cornhuskers had no trouble disposing of Minnesota 41-14 this past Saturday, pushing their overall record to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten. A win this week and Nebraska would be tied with Michigan State on top the Legends Division, but a loss would give the Spartans a huge advantage as they have already beat Michigan (2-1 Big Ten Legends).

Taking a look at the week 9 spreads, oddsmakers currently have Nebraska favored by 4-points over Michigan State with the total set at 49.5 points.

Michigan State Spartans:

Few were giving the Spartans much of a chance of beating Wisconsin last week, but this team came out and showed why they need to be considered as one of the best teams in the country. In order for that to stick they must prove they can come right back against a good team and win on the road.

Michigan State got an unbelievable performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins. The senior completed 22 of 31 attempts for 290 yards and three touchdowns, none bigger than the 44-yard Hail Mary that landed in the hands of Keith Nichol as time expired. Without that performance the Spartans had no chance of beating the Badgers, and now he must build off that and put together another strong game against a Nebraska defense that has played the pass extremely well this season. The Cornhuskers are 29th in the nation allowing just 193 passing yards a game.

While the Spartans need a big game out of Cousins if they are going to win on the road, they should be able to run the ball against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska lost star defensive tackle Jared Crick for the season and come into this game giving up 162.7 ypg on the ground. The Cornhuskers held a poor Minnesota rushing attack to 132 yards last week, but allowed 231 and 243 to Wisconsin and Ohio State in their previous two games.

Nebraska Cornhuskers:

While the Cornhuskers 41-14 blowout win over Minnesota has to have their confidence up, beating Minnesota isn’t something to get excited about. The Golden Gophers lost 0-58 at Michigan and 17-45 at Purdue in their first two Big Ten games.

Nebraska’s rushing attack accounted for 346 of their 515 yards of total offense against Minnesota. Rex Burkhead led the way with 117 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts. One thing that is concerning if you are a Nebraska fan is the fact that Cornhuskers managed to score just 7-points in the second half. I understand that had a 34-0 halftime lead, but with the way this team runs the ball they should have been able to keep the scoring coming in the second half.

Starting quarterback Taylor Martinez went 13 of 22 for 162 yards and a touchdown. While Nebraska is built to run the football, they are going to need Martinez to make some plays in the passing game if they are going to beat Michigan State. The Cornhuskers aren’t going to be able to run all over a Spartan defense that comes in 8th in the country against the run, allowing just 88.9 ypg. I’m not saying Martinez has to throw for over 200 yards for Nebraska to win, but he can’t afford to turn the ball over and allow Michigan State to get a big lead early.