Free Pick: Nebraska at Michigan State 9/25/21

This is a good matchup at East Lansing between an improving Nebraska team, that is coming off of a good showing at Oklahoma last week, and Michigan State, one of the most surprising teams in college football for this young season. The Spartans have been very efficient and are looking to win their 4th straight to open the season. Let’s break it down.

Scouting Nebraska: The Cornhuskers are getting better each week and quarterback, Adrian Martinez, played very well at Oklahoma last week. He was 19 of 25 for 289 yards and a touchdown and played totally under control. The ground game has not been productive and managed only 95 yards rushing against the Sooners and that is a weakness for the Nebraska offense. They don’t have a dominant wide receiver but they use their big tight ends and they are a threat. Defensively, the Cornhuskers are very good upfront and they are hard to run on and they are fully capable of causing problems for the Michigan State offense. Jojo Domann had 12 tackles last week and he was joined by Deontai Williams with 9 tackles, and Quinton Newsome had 6 solo tackles. These guys are good.

Scouting Michigan State: The Spartans revival has been led by quarterback, Payton Thorne, who has come out of nowhere to throw for 726 yards and 9 touchdowns with zero interceptions. Running back, Kenneth Walker, rushed for 172 yards on 27 carries. So, they are balanced on offense and have been averaging nearly 40 points per game. Defensively, Michigan State has always played very well on defense. Against Miami, they forced four turnovers and held them to 52 yards rushing. They should be able to defend Nebraska.

This looks like a matchup of the Nebraska defense against the Michigan State offense. Can they keep the Huskers in the game and can Martinez play as well as he did in Norman? If the defense can keep the game close, they have shown they can make plays and they could pull off the upset. Michigan State is a 5-point favorite.

DUDES WHO BET SPORTS PICK: Michigan State -5