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After a big win against Purdue, Michigan State will look to carry that momentum into a road matchup against Maryland. Check out our staff picks for this week’s action.
Matt Sheehan
Michigan State 23, Maryland 20
Yes, Maryland did just drop a 60-burger on Illinois...but it was also against Illinois. And Maryland has yet to bring the same team to the field two weeks in a row since, like, week two. They’re up-and-down, and I think running into MSU’s defense will be enough to bring them back down to earth. Maryland’s secondary will be solid enough to make this game close, but for some reason I’m seeing MSU make it happen. It could be the Stockholm Syndrome kicking in.
Michigan 27, Penn State 13
Wisconsin 41, Rutgers 10
Ohio State 870, Nebraska 3
Minnesota 24, Illinois 10
Iowa 23, Purdue, 21
Notre Dame 28, Northwestern 27
Kyle Thele
Michigan State 20, Maryland 7
Hopefully Spartans fans enjoyed the ugly win over Purdue, because things are just going to get uglier – which isn’t a bad thing. Maryland’s defense is strong and they are going to cause plenty of problems for MSU no matter who is taking the snaps. Fortunately, their offense is almost non-existent. Another late touchdown should secure the win for Michigan State.
Penn State 17, Michigan 27
Rutgers 7, Wisconsin 31
Nebraska 10, Ohio State 41
Minnesota 20, Illinois 17
Iowa 20, Purdue 28
Notre Dame 24, Northwestern 20
Zach Manning
Michigan State 24, Maryland 13
I know Maryland’s offense has some firepower, but MSU’s defense should be able to slow them down. I think the Spartans will score a defensive touchdown, and the offense will do enough to pull out a win.
Penn State at Michigan
Rutgers at Wisconsin
Nebraska at Ohio State
Minnesota at Illinois
Iowa at Purdue
Notre Dame at Northwestern
Ryan O’Bleness
Michigan State 27, Maryland 14
Maryland only has one quality win this year (over Texas), and I think the Michigan State defense is going to be too much to handle for the Terps. Will the DJ Durkin situation — he was reinstated one day earlier this week and then fired the next — affect the play and morale of the Maryland football team? Time will tell. I expect Rocky Lombardi to get another start, as Brian Lewerke continues to heal, although Maryland has a really strong pass defense (No. 22 in the country). Quarterback play will be crucial, but I think the Spartans get it done similar to last week with strong defense and ball control offense.
Penn State at Michigan
Rutgers at Wisconsin
Nebraska at Ohio State
Minnesota at Illinois
Iowa at Purdue
Notre Dame at Northwestern
David Harns
Michigan State 26, Maryland 18
MSU’s offense has confidence now. It knows that its quarterback -- whether it’s Lombardi or Lewerke -- can handle the job. The defense will continue to do its thing and MSU will head home bowl-eligible with Ohio State in its sights.
Penn State at Michigan
Rutgers at Wisconsin
Nebraska at Ohio State
Minnesota at Illinois
Iowa at Purdue
Notre Dame at Northwestern
Matt Hoeppner
Michigan State 24, Maryland 13
The Michigan State defense is good, and they have been playing fantastic lately. Maryland’s offense is heavily geared toward running the ball. Teams do not run the ball against Michigan State. Sure Penn State put up 200+ yards and Michigan had 183, but Penn State got almost all of it on two plays and Michigan needed 53 carries because they were averaging less than 3.5 yards per attempt. Also, both of those teams have much more effective passing games than what MSU will face on Saturday. Oh, and those two teams still only averaged a combined 19 points against the Spartan defense.
On the offensive side, I was terribly impressed by Rocky Lombardi last week and I expect him to play again Saturday. If the coaching staff comes out with a similar game plan as they did against Purdue, I see more success for the MSU offense. They aren’t going to light the world on fire, but they should be able to move the ball and put up enough points to get the job done.
Penn State over Michigan
Wisconsin over Rutgers
Ohio State over Nebraska
Minnesota over Illinois
Purdue over Iowa
Notre Dame over Northwestern