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The Western Michigan Broncos take on the Michigan State Spartans. Check out our college football odds series for our Western Michigan Michigan State prediction and pick.
The Western Michigan Broncos were a fun team to watch last year. When they won, they often scored more than 40 points. They won a shootout against ACC champion Pittsburgh on the road, in what was one of the bigger shockers from the early part of the 2021 season. Western Michigan also scored in the 40s when it defeated eventual MAC champion Northern Illinois. Western Michigan showed it could beat good teams last year. However, the Broncos also wobbled against a number of teams which finished the year near the .500 mark. Losses to both Eastern Michigan and Ball State turned a potentially great season into a modest one. The Broncos did thrash an undermanned Nevada team in the Quick Lane Bowl, but their year could have been even better than it was. A win here against Michigan State would show that the Broncos are ready to take the next step in their evolution and make a run at the Group of Five championship, which they won in the 2016 season under former coach P.J. Fleck.
The Michigan State Spartans will be a fascinating team to watch this year. Mel Tucker inherited a mess and labored through a miserable 2020 pandemic season. However, the pandemic placed a lot of limitations on a lot of teams. Players didn't have training table or other resources normally available to them. They weren't able to practice in normal circumstances on a reasonably normal schedule. In 2021, the Spartans showed that the pandemic year was not reflective of where they stood — or how good they were — as a football program. Michigan State upset rival Michigan, won on the road in Miami against the Hurricanes, fended off Penn State, rallied against Nebraska, and won 10 games in the regular season behind Kenneth Walker, who was the best running back in college football last year. Michigan State reached a New Year's Six bowl game, the Peach Bowl, and beat Pittsburgh. Tucker did a phenomenal job, but Walker is gone this year, and MSU has loaded up in the transfer portal, meaning that a lot of new faces will be expected to contribute to this year's team. It's going to be a wild ride.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Western Michigan-Michigan State College Football odds.
College Football Odds: Western Michigan-Michigan State Odds
Western Michigan Broncos: +20.5 (-110)
Michigan State Spartans: -20.5 (-110)
Over: 54.5 (-114)
Under: 54.5 (-106)
Why Western Michigan Could Cover the Spread
The Broncos had a high-octane offense last year. It sometimes sputtered, but the Broncos showed that when they were firing on all cylinders, they were hard to stop. If Western Michigan can score in the 20s in this game, it will have to give up a point total in the very high 40s or low 50s to lose against the spread. Since Michigan State's offense without Kenneth Walker is a mystery, the Broncos have to like their chances of keeping this game close if they can manage something in the range of 24 to 27 points.
Why Michigan State Could Cover the Spread
After winning with a lot of transfers last year, Michigan State can do the same thing this year under Mel Tucker, whose stock in the coaching industry soared based on the dramatic turnaround he engineered in East Lansing. Michigan State, in 2021, looked a lot like a Mark Dantonio team, in the sense that it was resourceful and found different ways to win against opponents with different playing styles. If that identity sticks and remains part of the DNA in East Lansing, this team should have a great year, and that means one should expect a blowout of Western Michigan.
Final Western Michigan-Michigan State Prediction & Pick
This is a stay-away game, just because so much about these teams is mysterious. If you had to make a pick, lean to Western Michigan just because it's almost three touchdowns in a Week 1 environment.
Final Western Michigan-Michigan State Prediction & Pick: Western Michigan +20.5
