Michigan Wolverines vs. Michigan State Spartans
Saturday, 10/25/14, 3:30 PM EST
Opening Point Spread: Michigan State -17
Current Betting Line: Michigan State -17
Opening Total: 51.5
Current Total: 48.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Michigan will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, as it picked up a 18-13 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions as 2.5-point home favorites on Oct. 11, while going UNDER the betting total for the first time in three contests. The Wolverines have won three of four games following a regular-season bye week under head coach Brady Hoke, which is important to consider when making your Week 9 college football predictions, especially since the rank first in the Big Ten Conference in red-zone offense. Michigan is 1-11 SU and 5-7 ATS as underdogs the last two-plus seasons, with the UNDER going 8-4 in that situation.
The Wolverines sit behind just three teams in the Big Ten and nine nationally in allowing just 301.0 yards per game, which can’t be ignored when looking over the college football odds page, as they’ve also managed to allow the fewest rushing touchdowns in the conference. Michigan will need to continue dominating the line of scrimmage, as its opponents are averaging just 2.73 yards per rush, which is important in a series with the winner capturing the rushing battle in 41 of the last 44 meetings.
Michigan State has rattled off five consecutive wins since suffering its only loss of the season to the Oregon Ducks on Sept. 6, as it looks to build off a 56-17 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers as 15.5-point road favorites last Saturday. The Spartans are 33-68-5 SU all-time in this in-state rivalry, but they’ve proven victorious in five of the last six meetings. The team held Michigan to a school-record low minus-48 yards rushing on 29 attempts in last year’s matchup. Michigan State is 13-5 SU and 6-12 ATS at Spartan Stadium the last two-plus seasons.
The Spartans have held the Wolverines without a touchdown for eight consecutive quarters—allowing just five field goals over that span. Over the last six games in the series, Michigan State has outscored Michigan by a 162-90 combined margin, with head coach Mark Dantonio’s five wins coming by an average of 14.8 points.
Sports bettors will likely back the Wolverines due to thee Spartans being 12-14 ATS as favorites since the start of the 2012 campaign.
Don’t miss out on a winning season and let the college football handicappers at Maddux Sports line your pockets with cash. Long term packages are available now!
