Purdue-Michigan St
Time: NOON, Oct 3 2015
Spread: MIS -22
Total: 55
Betting odds c/o Bovada
The Michigan State Spartans took care of business against Central Michigan last week, winning 30-10 to help them hang tight to that No. 2 ranking in college polls. This week, the Spartans will host Big Ten foe Purdue in a game that college football oddsmakers are setting 22-points in favor of MSU.
The Spartans defeated Western Michigan, then-No. 7 Oregon and Air Force in Weeks 1 through 3. Last week proved to be a mix blessing, for though Michigan State won by 20 points, it suffered a host of further injuries which could derail the season if they persist into the tougher part of MSU’s schedule, which really initiates on Oct. 17 with a matchup against No. 22 Michigan.
Shilique Calhoun was the savior last week, as the DL standout had 2.5 sacks and a blocked field goal. Mark Dantonio said he “sort of took the game over a little bit there.”
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While Calhoun did his thing defensively, it was Gerald Holmes who ran for two fourth quarter TDs that helped Michigan State put the distance between itself and Central Michigan, who pulled within seven points heading into the fourth. MSU has now scored 30-plus in the last 12 games, yet it took the fourth quarter outburst against Central Michigan to avoid ending that streak.
QB Connor Cook threw for just 143 yards on 11 of 19 passes, but he did not throw any picks, and it was all bolstered by the combinative efforts of Madre London and LJ Scott in the backfield, as the tandem combined for 127 yards on 23 carries.
Holmes had just four carries in the game, but as two of them led to TDs it was easy to brand him the hero of MSU’s offensive attack. Macgarrett Kings Jr. had 46 yards on two receptions while Aaron Burbridge also had four catches for 31 yards.
Cook is trying to build on a pretty impressive 2014 campaign which saw him throw for 3,214 yards while posting a raw QB rating of 76.0. His rating this season is 85.3, and he has thrown nine TDs while having just one pick. He’s also only been sacked three times in four games, though his average yards per pass has decreased nearly a yard from a season ago.
Not much has changed for cellar dweller Purdue, who sits at 1-3 on the season and is expected to finish at the bottom of the Big Ten West. The Boilermakers were able to notch a 38-14 victory over Indiana State in Week 2, but have fallen to Marshall, Virginia Tech and Bowling Green just last week. Purdue lost on a late touchdown by Bowling Green after Travis Greene put the juke on three Boilermaker defenders en route to the 35-28 loss.
The Boilermakers were most certainly anticipating a pass play, but Bowling Green Dino Babers threw them a wrench by running the football, and said of the play, “It did work, so I get to smile. I thought it was going to work.”
It worked for Bowling Green, but Purdue must turn back to what did work in Week 2 in its lone victory.
That main difference was Austin Appleby. The QB threw for 289 yards on 20 of 34 passing while racking up four TDs in the game. Purdue also got outstanding production from its backs in the game with 30 carries between DJ Knox and Markell Jones who combined for 158 yards. Appleby added another 50 yards on 12 carries. Of course, this came against Indiana State, so it is hard to exactly pin a season on one performance, is it not?
So what has the 6’5” junior Appleby looked like the rest of the contests? Well, he was hot garbage against Virginia Tech, solid against Marshall, and…
He sat last week as David Blough threw 29 of 39 for 340 yards and two TDs.
Blough is a red shirt freshman who has displaced Appleby for the time being. After throwing for over 300 yards, it might stick. It is too early to say that after last week Appleby’s fate is sealed, but Purdue is a program looking to snatch some victories however it can. It is just highly unlikely to come against the No. 2 team in the nation this week in MSU.
