The 2023 season hasn’t quite been a party for Sparty.
Michigan State enters its Saturday night clash against top-ranked Ohio State at 3-6 — its worst nine-game start since 2016 — and 1-5 in Big Ten play amidst a controversy-riddled campaign. However, the Spartans finally picked up some momentum last week with a 20-17 win over Nebraska to snap a six-game losing streak under interim head coach Harlon Barnett.
On the flip side, Ohio State looks to remain unbeaten with The Game looming in two weeks. The Buckeyes may look a little unfamiliar this week, as they will sport brand-new all-gray uniforms during the primetime matchup.
Despite the new look, it’ll be the same ol’ Buckeye squad that has taken care of business in all nine games this year. And it appears defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is fired up for another opportunity for his unit to feast.
Nobody does SATURDAY MORNINGlike Coach Knowles pic.twitter.com/WPIm2SZi6v
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 11, 2023
With less than three hours until kickoff at Ohio Stadium, the Eleven Warriors staff offer their score predictions and take a look at the betting implications for the matchup between the Buckeyes and Spartans.
Andy Anders: Ohio State 49, Michigan State 3. “Michigan State is bad. Ohio State is good and getting better. I don’t see where the Spartans can present a threat, realistically.”
Chase Brown: Ohio State 44, Michigan State 3. “Michigan State's offense ranks 111th and 121st in the NCAA at 319.1 yards and 18.2 points per game, while its defense ranks 45th and 72nd at 350.9 yards and 26.6 points allowed per game. The Buckeyes should have no issue blowing out the Spartans, and they'll look good doing it under the lights in their alternate gray uniforms.”
George Eisner: Ohio State 38, Michigan State 6. “Last week, the Spartans finally won their first game since Mel Tucker's suspension that led to his removal. However, during the losing streak, MSU posted single-digit point totals against half of its opponents and witnessed defeat by a margin of 90-7 against ranked teams. Provided Kyle McCord keeps turnovers to a minimum, the Buckeyes should cruise.”
Johnny Ginter: Ohio State 45, Michigan State 7. “I expect Ryan Day to try and get Marvin Harrison, Jr. back in the Heisman race and attempt to convince Minnesota and Michigan that Kyle McCord doesn't have anything close to a weenie arm.”
Matt Gutridge: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 13. “The Buckeyes win at least 10 games in a season for the 31st time in school history. Yes, I'm including the 2010 season. If Michigan can cheat, we can count the victories from 13 years ago.”
Garrick Hodge: Ohio State 41, Michigan State 7. “While Michigan State did finally pick up a victory against Nebraska last week, this is a pretty putrid Spartans team and I expect Ohio State to play accordingly.”
Dan Hope: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 0. “Ohio State’s defense has been chasing a shutout all season; a home night game against the only Big Ten team scoring fewer points per game than Iowa seems like a good time to make that happen. In what should be one of the best environments of the season at the Shoe, I expect the Buckeyes to control the game from start to finish and get their backups more playing time in the second half.”
Kyle Jones: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 7. “OSU gets ahead early and wins easily in a laugher. McCord quietly has a huge game with 4 TD passes but less than 300 passing yards.”
Chris Lauderback: Ohio State 35, Michigan State 10. “I expect Day will go into 'remove my starters' mode earlier than usual in this one and that'll keep the outcome from getting too lopsided. Also, $%#@ Michigan.”
Ramzy Nasrallah: Ohio State 42, Michigan State 7. “Spartans Will™ lose to Ohio State for the eighth straight year.”
Josh Poloha: Ohio State 45, Michigan State 6. “The Buckeyes finally get a night game at home this season and it's in November, which is weird. That said, The Spartans stand no chance. Marvin Harrison Jr. and TreVeyon Henderson will dominate and combine for four touchdowns and Ohio State will make it look easy against a bad Michigan State team.”
Jason Priestas: Ohio State 48, Michigan State 6. “Just in time for the stretch run, Ohio State has a game in which all cylinders are firing. Pray for Sparty.”
Jack Emerson: Ohio State 38, Michigan State 10. “I might not be in love with Ohio State’s gray alternate uniforms, but I do love the Buckeyes’ defensive improvements this season. I fully expect the Silver Bullets to control the game yet again against Sparty.”
Check out this week’s Eleven Warriors Roundtable for more discussion regarding No. 1 Ohio State’s clash with Michigan State from Ramzy Nasrallah, Chase Brown and Matt Gutridge.
WILL OHIO STATE COVER?
Ohio State is favored over Michigan State by 31.5 points as of Saturday afternoon, its largest projected margin of victory since facing Youngstown State on Sept. 9 (-45.5) and its widest spread over the Spartans since 1997.
Despite entering Saturday’s contest at 9-0, the Buckeyes have registered a 5-3-1 record against the spread and have cleared the mark in four of their last five games. Michigan State would likely prefer to have its 4-4-1 record against the spread as opposed to its 3-6 mark to this point in the campaign.
A majority of the Eleven Warriors staff envision the Buckeyes clearing the lofty 31.5-point mark, with Chris Lauderback, Matt Gutridge and Jack Emerson being the lone holdouts.
WHAT ABOUT THE OVER?
The total has dipped considerably since opening at 61 points, falling to 46.5 as of Saturday afternoon.
Ohio State cleared the over for just the second time this season last week in its 35-16 victory over Rutgers, while the over is 5-4 in Michigan State games to this point.
Most of the Eleven Warriors staff predict the over will hit for the second-straight game, although Chris Lauderback, Dan Hope and George Eisner picked the under.
Looking for more betting analysis regarding Saturday’s contest? Check out Easy Bucks for more detailed breakdowns of this weekend’s lines and more.
ELEVEN WARRIORS HOUSE PROP BETS
Want more lines to speculate on? Look no further than our in-house prop betting lines for this matchup to get a greater sense of what oddsmakers are expecting from individual performances. Leave your predictions for us in the comments and compete for some bragging rights!
- How many touchdowns will Kyle McCord throw?
- Over 2.5 (-110)
- Under 2.5 (-110)
- How many rushing yards will TreVeyon Henderson finish with?
- Over 120.5 (-110)
- Under 120.5 (-110)
- How many receptions will Marvin Harrison Jr. finish with?
- Over 7.5 (-115)
- Under 7.5 (-105)
- How many yards of total offense will Michigan State finish with?
- Over 275.5 (-110)
- Under 275.5 (+100)
Still need time to kill before kickoff? Gear up for the new season with a quick shopping spree around the Eleven Warriors Dry Goods store!
