In the 116th meeting for the Paul Bunyan Trophy, Michigan travels to East Lansing to face Michigan State on Oct. 21. It is the second straight year the game will be played at night time as last year, the Wolverines defeated the Spartans 29-7 in a defensive battle. Michigan heads into the game as a 24.5-point favorite. Knowing what happened last year with the tunnel incident, the whole Mel Tucker drama and the return of Mark Dantonio, this year’s meeting should be filled with emotion. Will the Wolverines take control of the rivalry or will the Spartans pull off another upset led by Dantonio? Read on for the the predictions from the The Collegiate Sports Department.
Pierson VanGorp: Similar to last year’s prediction, I believe this game will be closer than the experts think. One of the main reasons for that is due to Michigan State changing their quarterback from redshirt junior Noah Kim to freshman Katin Houser. Houser, the youngest QB to start in the last two decades against Michigan, looked extremely comfortable in his first start last week against Rutgers. However, Houser is going against the No.1 ranked scoring defense in the country allowing an impressive 6.7 PPG. The key for the Spartans is if they can run the ball with UCONN transfer Nathan Carter and if the defense can stop the run. MSU is ranked 32nd in rush yards allowed per game in the country, which should give Spartan fans a glimpse of hope.
As for the Wolverines, some of the main aspects they should focus on are stopping the run, distinguishing success between their pass game and run game and keeping their emotions under control. Michigan ranks 10th in the nation in stopping the run only allowing 91 rush yards per game. The Michigan offense has been compared to a boa constrictor, as they slowly demoralize their prey. Led by Heisman contenders JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum, the Michigan offense heads into the game with minimal fourth quarter experience. If senior receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson can have an impact, I don’t see a way Michigan State can stop this offense.
I believe the game will start off extremely slow. The emotions will be high and both teams will take a quarter to get a footing. Like Michigan has done all year, they will slowly take control of the game led by their defense along with their running game. As the fourth quarter arises, I believe Michigan will expand their lead and pull away. I have Michigan winning 31-17
James Herold: After a 29-7 beatdown in Ann Arbor last year, Michigan State enters the game with a new coaching staff after the termination of head coach Mel Tucker after sexual harassment allegations led to a Title IX investigation. This game for MSU is at home in East Lansing, they are 2-4 after 4 straight losses to Washington, Maryland, Iowa and Rutgers. The Rutgers game for MSU was promising at first as MSU had a 24-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. MSU went on to give up that 18-point lead, losing 27-24. To me, Saturday is a new day. MSU’s defense needs to show up though in order to help redshirt freshman Katin Houser have comfortability against Michigan’s defense. The quarterback duo of Noah Kim and Katin Houser have been a rocky one this year. Kim’s last start was a 26-16 loss to Iowa. Houser is showing progress though, given his performance in the loss to Rutgers. In the game against Michigan, Michigan comes into this game 7-0. I have two predictions for this game, one biased and one non-biased. If MSUs defense doesn’t show up, I have MSU losing 41-17. If Katin Houser is able to have a great game, and the defense backs him up, I have MSU winning 35-31. Coming into this game, Michigan alum and current head coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan State alum and Interim MSU head coach Harlon Barnett, are making history. They are the first opposing alumni duo to coach in the rivalry game.
Jack Walker: It’s been a nightmarish season for the Michigan State Spartans this year after the Mel Tucker situation and a 2-4 start. Michigan State’s nightmares continued last week in Piscataway, New Jersey against Rutgers. With 1:46 left to go in the third quarter MSU led Rutgers 24-6 and had a 98.3% chance to win according to ESPN’s Win Probability Model. After Multiple special teams mishaps the Spartans would find themselves losing 24-27. But, the game against Rutgers gave Spartan fans a possible glimpse into the future after Interim Head Coach Harlon Barnett benched starting quarterback Noah Kim and handed the keys to Redshirt Freshman Katin Houser. Michigan State was able to put up their most points since Week 2 with Houser at quarterback. It’ll be a challenging game for the Redshirt Freshman as he faces as Michigan is only allowing 6.7 points per game, the best in the nation.
A nightmarish season cannot be said for the Michigan Wolverines as they enter Saturday ranked No. 2 in the nation with a 7-0 nation. Michigan is coming off of two straight games in which they scored 50 points or more and allowed 10 points or less. The Wolverines are only allowing 6.7 points per game and rank 10th in offensive points per game at 39.4. Michigan players have dominated every game they’ve played this year with their closest margin of victory being 24 against Rutgers. There is not much else to say except that Michigan has been one of the best teams in the country and have about as good of a chance of winning the National Championship as anyone.
Michigan have lost a combined three games since the 2021 season, Michigan State enters Saturday on a four-game losing streak. The Spartans surprisingly played the Wolverines close last year, only trailing by one possession at halftime, but I don’t see that continuing this year. The Spartans look better defensively this season than last, but overall the team seems worse. I have Michigan winning 38-10
