Michigan State football vs. Nebraska betting odds and prediction

Michigan State football will host the Nebraska Cornhuskers tonight at 7 p.m Est in front of what is expected to be a hostile Spartan crowd.

Despite producing just a 2-2 season record to date, Nebraska played the no. 4 ranked team in the nation tough last week.  Oklahoma eventually came away with a 23-16 victory, which certainly has garnered the attention of ESPN’s College Gameday ‘The Bear’.

On Saturday’s edition of Gameday, Chris Fallica (The Bear) mentioned that he does not expect the Spartans to cover the -4 spread.  Former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit quickly chimed in to say he’d take Nebraska outright.  That number has since moved to -3.5 in favor of the Spartans, so it seems Nebraska is garnering plenty of the money right now.

It seems the National media is finished drinking the Michigan State football green Kool-Aid.

I recommend pumping the brakes on this notion.  Michigan State football deploys one of the nation’s top rushers in Kenneth Walker III.  Walker III has carried the ball 57 times for Mel Tucker’s club over the first three games totaling 493 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Walker III appears to be the Spartans’ top rushing prospect since the great Le’Veon Bell.  His backup, Jordon Simmons, is no slouch either.  Simmons has amassed 132 yards on 23 carries.

Michigan State runs the ball very well, and Nebraska struggles to defend the run.  I expect Michigan State’s offensive coordinator Jay Johnson to lean on the run early and often, but quarterback Payton Thorne has proved he can shoulder the load if things go awry.

Thorne has tossed for 726 yards and nine touchdowns without throwing an interception this season.  The one blemish is that he’s only completing 62.3% of his pass attempts.  It’s not a horrible number, but you’d like to see that number elevated near 65%, especially against the weaker early-season competition.

Jayden Reed seems to be Throne’s go-to receiver so far in 2021, having amassed 277 yards on 12 catches totaling three scores.

Heading into tonight’s matchup, Michigan State has scored 39.3 points per game which ranks 29th in the nation, and have only allowed 17.3 points, suitable for 35th best in the country.

Under head coach Scott Frost, Nebraska averages 29.5 points per game (70th) while yielding 15.8, which ranks 26th.

Michigan State football needs to make sure they neutralize the Cornhusker’s dual-threat quarterback, Adrian Martinez.  Martinez has completed just over 65% of his passing attempts totaling 1,017 yards and five scores while throwing one interception.  He also leads Nebraska in rushing with 290 yards on 51 attempts adding another four scores.

Michigan State football betting odds, spread, and prediction.

Head over to WynnBET to place your wagers.  WynnBET has the current odds set at Michigan State as 3.5 point favorites.  The Moneyline is -180 to Michigan State or +150 to Nebraska.  The Under/Over is currently set at 54 with a -110 return.

I believe the Spartans will cover the 3.5 points, but I am electing to take the Under 54 in total points with both programs priding themselves on playing stout defense.  This has the makings of a 28-24 type of contest, and I’m betting on the green machine.