Michigan State Favored By 3 At Home Over 22 Michigan

NFL News - October 1st, 2009 - Written by Scott

Michigan has had the luxury of playing their first four games at home and are 4-0 on the season. Life gets a little tougher this week as they go on the road to face their in-state and Big Ten rival Michigan State. The Spartans are 1-3 on the year, but will provide a true test for a Wolverine team that appears to be much improved from a season ago. Michigan got a come from behind win last week 36-33 against Indiana. Michigan State is coming off a a 38-30 loss to Wisconsin and all three of the Spartans' losses have come in close games. Michigan has needed to come from behind in two of their wins and needed a 5-yard pass with 11 seconds to get by Notre Dame. In last year's game, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines 35-31 in Ann Arbor.

Michigan is led by quarterback Tate Forcier. The freshman quarterback will face a tough test this Saturday and how he responds to a hostile crowd will play a role in his success. The running game for the Wolverines is led by Carlos Brown who has 321 yards and 3 touchdowns. They have four players with over 100 yards rushing and they will need to establish their rushing attack to keep the pressure off of Forcier. They do use a two-quarterback system and Denard Robinson has had success with his feet. He is the team's second leading rusher with 179 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offense has carried the load in their four wins, as their defense has not been up to par.

Michigan State's offense has kept their team in all of their games and is averaging 32 points per game. The Spartans use a two-quarterback rotation as well with Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol. Cousins has passed for 850 yards and 7 touchdowns on the year. Nichols, who is more of threat running the ball, has passed for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns. Their rushing attack, which has not produced as it had in years past, is anchored by Caulton Ray and Larry Caper. The two backs have combined for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns. Defensively for the Spartans, their secondary has been abused all year and they have allowed 10 touchdown passes this season. Michigan State has virtually had no pass rush all season which could be the cause of a struggling secondary. This will need to change if they are to beat Michigan on Saturday.

Betus Sportsbook has Michigan State favored by 3 at home against Michigan. The over/under is set at 57 for the game. If the Spartans can finally correct their problems defensively, this could be a close matchup.

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