The Big 10 East has solidified itself this year as being the best division in football. Really, we are talking about Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan. Penn State finds itself 3-4 in conference play, and Maryland, Rutgers and Indiana are nothing to boast about.
Ohio State and Michigan State have a massive showdown this week as the Spartans travel to Columbus. Similar to Purdue, MSU has played spoiler to the Buckeyes in the past, but OSU has dominated this series as of late.
2011 —–>
—-> 2020
As it stands currently, and the way the CFP committee has shown that head to head may or may not matter (don’t get me started on that again), the Big 10 East is wide open. Whoever wins this game, will surely find themselves back in the CFP rankings if you are MSU, or steadily holding/jumping Oregon if you are Ohio State. I even think that MSU would jump up over Oregon if they win Saturday.
Now let’s get into the game. According to Sports Illustrated, the Spartans rank dead last in the country (130/130) in Pass Defense, allowing 329 yards per game through the air. Against the #1 offense in the country who likes to throw the ball with the embarrassment of riches that OSU has at WR, the Spartans will have to play a lot better in the back end if they want to hang around with the Buckeyes. OSU averages 353.6 yards/game through the air.
Not only does MSU have to stop the Buckeyes through the air, or moreover, contain this offense, but Kenneth Walker III needs to have a monster game to give the Spartans a chance to pull off this upset. Walker III had a “Heisman moment” in the win against rival Michigan, however he needs another moment against the Buckeyes. Not only does this give MSU a good chance at winning, but almost gives voters all the confidence they needs to vote Walker III to be the newest member of the Heisman House.
Mel Tucker has done a fantastic job so far as MSU’s head coach, but Ryan Day has improved this defense and has the offense humming. Should be a good showdown in the ‘Shoe Saturday and we think that the Buckeyes find themselves that signature win.
Prediction: Ohio State 48 – Michigan State 33
