Michigan State Spartans vs. Northwestern Wildcats Betting Preview

Friday night features a battle of Big Ten East versus West as the Michigan State Spartans take on the Northwestern Wildcats. Northwestern will host this one at Ryan Field, with kickoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.
Last season, Michigan State finished 2-5 in the conference. Despite their poor record, their victories were something that left people in awe.

While one was against an inconsistent Michigan team, the other was against Northwestern. In fact, that upset was Northwestern’s only conference loss of the season last year.

While the Wildcats may have dropped that game to the Spartans, they still had a great year. They finished 7-2 overall and finished tenth in the overall rankings.

While Pat Fitzgerald’s Wildcats lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship (22-10), they did beat Auburn 35-19 in the Citrus Bowl.

The Wildcats are the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -160 to win while the Spartans’ moneyline sits at +140. The spread features Michigan State +3.5 (-120), and the over/under for total points is 46.

By The Numbers

Last season, the Northwestern Wildcats had the slightly better offense overall. They ranked 89th in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game (27.2 at home). The Michigan State Spartans ranked 116th, averaging 18 points per game.

Defensively, Northwestern was one of the best in the country last season. They ranked fourth, allowing opponents an average of just 15.9 points per game (8.2 at home). The Spartans ranked 98th allowing 35.1 points.

Current Season Odds

While both are longshots, Northwestern has the better odds of winning the National Championship this season at +20000. The Spartans are +25000 to win it all.

Spartans Look To Improve On Rough 2020

It certainly was a rough year last year, but there is still optimism for the Spartans as they head into the second year under head coach Mel Tucker’s regime.

Under center is still a bit of an unknown for the Spartans’ offense. It basically has boiled down to either Anthony Russo (who transferred from Temple) or sophomore Payton Thorne.

Last season, Russo threw for 863 yards, nine touchdowns, and six interceptions with Temple. This was after a 2019 season where he threw for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns. In terms of experience, Russo certainly has the upper hand as he has played in 26 games over the last few years.

For Thorne, he threw for 582 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions towards the end of last season.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Tucker went with Russo to start the season, but this is truly a quarterback competition that could go either way.

Fitzgerald Has Big Holes To Fill

Despite a tremendous season last year, the Wildcats have some question marks entering the season. Like the Spartans, their quarterback spot is one of them with Peyton Ramsey gone.

It appears that they have settled in on Hunter Johnson, a former top prospect and transfer from Clemson, but he certainly has not excelled in the college scene. He did not play at all last year, and he only threw for 432 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions in 2019 for Northwestern.

Head coach Pat Fitzgerald will also have some big shoes to fill on defense. In fact, only four starters from last season are back.

Linebackers Blake Gallagher and Paddy Fisher, and cornerback Greg Newsome II are all gone. Fitzgerald will hope that new defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil can make a smooth transition this year from the pro game as he takes over for the retired Mike Hankwitz.

Take Michigan State And The Points

This will be a fascinating opening week to watch for both of these teams. On paper, they both seem to have leveled out a bit.

For Michigan State, there is likely to be an improvement as the program enters its second season under Tucker. For the Wildcats, there is likely to be some regression early as the program tries to fill holes (especially defensively).

With so much uncertainty, the smart play is to take the points. In this case, that means taking Michigan State +3.5.