Michigan State football predictions vs Minnesota: Can Spartans get 1st Big Ten win?
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A five-game losing streak in Big Ten play? Why, we haven’t seen a skid like this from Michigan State football since, well — take a deep breath, Jonathan Smith —2023, when the Spartans dropped five straight to open league play under interim coach Harlon Barnett.
Their opponent Saturday (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network), the Minnesota Golden Gophers aren’t feeling so great themselves, despite needing just one win for their seventh bowl berth in nine seasons — that’s a lot of rowing the boat, Gophers! — under coach P.J. Fleck. Losing by 38 points to Iowa in the annual Floyd of Rosedale Trophy game will do that to Gophers (and other small rodents, we suppose).
There’s no trophy on the line here, just the potential to put the Spartans’ metaphorical backs up against the bowl-berth wall: Lose here, and Smith and MSU will need wins in their final three — Penn State, Iowa and Maryland (in Detroit, no less) — to return to a bowl for the first time since 2021.
Will the Spartans head into their second bye week on a cloud of good vibes, or will the Golden Gophers start making their December bowl plans early (we hear Ford Field is nice and comfy, come wintertime)?
Four Free Press sports writers have some thoughts:
Carlos Monarrez
Penn State and Maryland are the Spartans’ best chances of winning another game this season, but I wouldn’t rule out an upset at Minnesota. Quarterback Drake Lindsey looked lost and every bit a first-time starter in a 41-3 blowout against Iowa. Runing back Darius Taylor of Walled Lake Western barely played against the Hawkeyes while dealing with an injury. If he’s out or limited, this could be Michigan State’s chance to pounce. The pick: Minnesota 26, MSU 22.
Jeff Seidel
While the Spartans continue to march toward what seems like an inevitable coaching search, here’s my big question: Who you gonna get? It’s easy to scream: Fire the coach! But there are several big-time jobs open right now. That takes off the top tier of coaching candidates for MSU. You want to take a chance on a coordinator? You want to devote money to a buyout, money that could be used in NIL to get better players? Maybe it’s something to think about, as the Golden Gophers beat the Spartans. The pick: Minnesota 27, MSU 17.
Chris Solari
Coming off a rivalry loss and mired in a monthlong misery, it is hard to pick the Spartans in what essentially is a toss-up game. Expect Chiles to start and give the Golden Gophers fits until MSU’s offensive line begins to wear down in the second half, and the secondary withers late against Drake Lindsey to get Minnesota bowl-eligible and further increase heat on Jonathan Smith and his staff. The pick: Minnesota 24, MSU 21.
Shawn Windsor
Let's give the Spartans a couple touchdowns and a missed 2-point conversion. Let's also give them the assumption that they haven't given up yet, even though their most famous sports alum — Magic Johnson — posted on social media last week that the football team looked "uninspired." For Johnson, that might as well have been him saying the football team was doing the devil's work. Well, they aren't, unless they come out indifferent against the Golden Gophers. They won't. And it won't matter. The pick: Minnesota 27, MSU 13.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football predictions vs Minnesota: A win in Week 10?
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