Vegas odds officially set for Michigan vs. Michigan State
The opening Vegas odds are in for the Michigan Wolverines‘ trip to East Lansing for a game against the Michigan State Spartans with U-M set as a 23.5-point favorite over its hated in-state rival, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under for total points scored is set at 48.5.
Michigan has historically had trouble covering the spread against MSU, going 2-12-1 against the Spartans over the last 15 matchups, and 1-6 on the road covering the spread at Spartan Stadium. However, Michigan is 14-4-1 in its last 19 games played in October, so there’s a chance for a trend reversal for a team that has found its fastball in Big Ten play, covering against all four of its opponents.
Michigan will be looking for its first two-game win streak in the rivalry since the 2018 and 2019 seasons against the Spartans. Michigan is 4-4 against its in-state rival since head coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2015 and won last season’s game in Ann Arbor by a score of 29-7. Other victories in the series came in 2016, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Obviously, the elephant in the room between the two teams is what happened after last year’s postgame assaults in the Michigan Stadium tunnel, where a handful of Spartans were suspended after throwing punches and swinging a helmet at Michigan players. There will be a spotlight for extracurriculars both on and off the field in what has historically been one of the more heated rivalries in the country.
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“The goal is mutual respect and tremendous competition,” Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Days when asked about the rivalry with Michigan State. “That’s what we’re striving for. We have that for Michigan State, mutual respect. And it is great competition.”
Of course, this game looks much different than it did a few months ago. Spartan head coach Mel Tucker was fired for cause in September after MSU found him guilty of violating the moral turpitude clause in his contract thanks to an inappropriate relationship with Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault educator who had a business partnership with Michigan State. In his absence, Michigan State tabbed Harlon Barnett as the team’s interim head coach with former boss Mark Dantonio back with the program as an advisor.
With so much going on behind the scenes in East Lansing, the struggles on the field have snowballed. After season-opening wins over Central Michigan and Richmond, helmed by Tucker, the Spartans have lost four straight games under Barnett to Washington, Maryland, Iowa and Rutgers.
Saturday’s game in East Lansing kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
