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TOC Staff Picks: Arizona State

Will the Spartans get revenge on Arizona State? See what our writers think.

NCAA Football: Western Michigan at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

After losing to Arizona State last season, Michigan State will be looking for revenge Saturday evening. Will the Spartans get the win this time? See what our writers think. Also, see how our writers are doing with these predictions by checking out the record next to each name. Records vary based on participation.

Kyle Thele (10-4)

Michigan State 31, Arizona State 13

The Spartans will have a great opportunity to exorcise some demons – or rather, devils.... Sorry, I had to, I didn’t want to, but I had to.

Seriously though, Michigan State should be able to get a big paper win against Arizona State in East Lansing. Despite being 2-0, the Sun Devils have looked less than inspiring against Kent State and Sacramento State, a game they barely survived at home. As long as the defensive backs can stay strong, the defensive line should absolutely feast. The biggest key to the game, however, is finding out how real that Elijiah Collins performance was. If he can look like he did last week, even if the final numbers aren’t the same against a better ASU defense, the Spartans offense will be balanced enough to put up more than enough points to get the W.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

Paul Fanson (23-3)

MSU 27, Arizona State 14

When I asked my computer for the score of this week’s game, it immediately spat out a spread that was within a half of a point of the actual opening spread. But, I don’t think that the teams are going to find a way to score 26 and 15 points. So, I will round a bit and predict a 27-14 win for MSU.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

Apparently, Purdue did something to anger my computer this week.

Ryan O’Bleness (17-9)

Michigan State 28, Arizona State 17

In the words of current Arizona State coach, Herm Edwards, “You play to win the game!” That’s exactly what his opponent does this week. Kenny Willekes and the Michigan State pass rush eat true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels alive, giving him nightmares for the rest of the season. The front seven shuts down the run game, as per usual. We don’t see quite the offensive explosion we saw against a much weaker Western Michigan team, but the offense is efficient and puts up more than enough points for a comfortable victory. Jake Hartbarger gets revenge by pinning the Sun Devils inside the 10-yard line multiple times.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

David Harns (23-3)

MSU 29, Arizona State 18

Spartan Nation shows up in force to push the Spartans through to a 3-0 non-conference start to the season.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

Zach Manning (21-5)

MSU 27, Arizona State 10

I’m still skeptical about the offense, but I think the unit makes enough plays to put some points on the board. The defense will be stellar once again and the Spartans roll to 3-0.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

Matt Hoeppner (22-4)

Michigan State 28, Arizona State 10

Arizona State can’t run the ball well, has a freshman QB, and a suspect offensive line. That doesn’t translate well coming into Spartan Stadium against this defense. I just don’t see how they can muster enough offense to keep this competitive.

Meanwhile the MSU offense found something last week, and while they aren’t putting up 50 again any time soon, they will be able to do enough against a tough ASU defense to get the job done. MSU heads into the conference schedule with a 3-0 record.

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska

Samuel Tyler (0-0)

MSU 33, ASU 17

Eastern Michigan vs. Illinois

Ohio State vs. Indiana

Pittsburgh vs. Penn State

Maryland vs. Temple

UNLV vs. Northwestern

Georgia Southern vs. Minnesota

Iowa vs. Iowa State

TCU vs. Purdue

Northern Illinois vs. Nebraska