The Nebraska Cornhuskers and Michigan State Spartans get the conference schedule started on Saturday evening. This is a hard game to project, and there are still a lot of unknowns with each team. The Huskers come into the game at 3-0, but they have played soft opponents so far and have been able to run up the score. We need to see them against power conference teams to know who they really are. Michigan State is a program in transition (again—this is their third new coach in seven years). They were at least competitive in a loss to Notre Dame last week, 27-10, but my belief is that Nebraska is the better team here. There are still a lot of questions, and winning on the road is always hard in these power conferences, but give me Nebraska -5.5.
Nebraska should have some offensive firepower. They grabbed Virginia transfer QB Anthony Colandrea, and he is a good off-schedule thrower. He has a good line to work behind, and I think this offense is above average in the Big Ten. The question is what happens on the other side of the ball. Last year, the Huskers were dreadful against the run. Michigan State has strong RBs, and that might be the strength of their team. They also have a coordinator who prefers a more spread-style attack. This game likely comes down to how well Nebraska can contain the run. I think the Huskers will score plenty themselves.
Nebraska vs Michigan State Prediction: Nebraska Cornhuskers -5.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -6.5.
