College Football Sneak Peek – Week 9 – Michigan at (8) Michigan State

Michigan at (8) Michigan State 

Brady Hoke likely won’t be the Michigan Wolverines’ head coach next season. If he wants to leave fans with a positive impression of him, a victory over the Michigan State Spartans should be on top of his to-do list. But that will be much easier said than done, as Michigan State is a National Championship contender and will have home-field advantage.  These bitter rivals will square off for the Paul Bunyan Trophy on Saturday, October 27, at Spartan Stadium (3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC).

Michigan at (8) Michigan State 

Brady Hoke likely won’t be the Michigan Wolverines’ head coach next season. If he wants to leave fans with a positive impression of him, a victory over the Michigan State Spartans should be on top of his to-do list. But that will be much easier said than done, as Michigan State is a National Championship contender and will have home-field advantage.  These bitter rivals will square off for the Paul Bunyan Trophy on Saturday, October 27, at Spartan Stadium (3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC).

Whatever happens this coming weekend, the Wolverines will enter the Michigan State game as heavy underdogs; Michigan is 3-4 on the year. They have lost to Notre Dame (31-0) and Rutgers (26-24) on the road, and Utah (26-10) and Minnesota (30-14) at home. They have notched wins over Appalachian State (52-14), Miami (OH) (34-10), and Penn State (18-13), all in Ann Arbor. The win over Penn State last week quieted Hoke’s critics momentarily, but Michigan remains a program in disarray and without a clear future. Senior quarterback Devin Gardner has been subpar this year, throwing eight interceptions and just six touchdowns.

In contrast to the Wolverines, the Spartans are having an excellent season and remain in contention for a playoff spot. State’s only loss this season was against then second-ranked Oregon. However, Michigan State knows another loss will drop them from playoff contention.

The Spartans are led by quarterback and Heisman hopeful Connor Cook, who has passed for 1309 yards, 13 touchdowns, and just four interceptions this year. Cook led the Spartans to a convincing 29-6 win over Michigan last season, but Cook’s numbers were not as high as you’d expect, given the scoreline. He went 18/33 for 252 yards, one TD, and one interception. He will be looking to post better numbers this year to boost his Heisman resume.

Other than the Ducks, Michigan State has only played one other ranked team this year; the Spartans beat No. 19 Nebraska 27-22 on October 4. It is hard to predict how Cook and the Spartans will do against quality competition going forward. Lucky for us, they won’t facing quality competition on October 27 and should come out with an easy win.

Michigan leads the all-time series 53-21-4, but the Spartans have won five of the last six.