What they're saying, predicting ahead of Michigan football vs. Michigan State

Michigan Wolverines football will host Michigan State Saturday night at The Big House (7:30 p.m. ET on ABC). Here is a look around the internet at what they’re saying before kickoff.

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Media predicts outcome of Michigan vs. Michigan State

TheWolverine.com

Chris Balas: U-M 38, MSU 17

John Borton: U-M 38, MSU 17

Clayton Sayfie: U-M 39, MSU 13

Anthony Broome: U-M 45, MSU 24

Doug Skene: U-M 31, MSU 17

MLive

Matt Wenzel: U-M 35, MSU 17

Andrew Kahn: U-M 37, MSU 17

Aaron McMann: U-M 31, MSU 14

Kyle Austin: U-M 28, MSU 17

The Detroit News

Matt Charboneau: U-M 31, MSU 13

Angelique S. Chengelis: U-M 34, MSU 17

John Niyo: U-M 38, MSU 17

Bob Wojnowski: U-M 40, MSU 13

The Sporting News

Bill Bender: U-M 38, MSU 20

The Athletic

Bruce Feldman: U-M 45, MSU 17

Stewart Mandel, U-M 42, MSU 14

Bob Wojnowski, The Detroit News: Wojo’s Pigskin Picks: Watch out, Spartans, the Wolverines are really serious this time

The Spartans were so excited about their 11-2 season, they had “37-33” engraved on their bowl championship rings. Players also reportedly had the option of tattooing “37-33” on their foreheads.

To counter it, Jim Harbaugh has taken other extreme measures. For instance, the Wolverines don’t plan to make excuses if something goes wrong, unless it’s a really good excuse involving the weather. Also, no trash-talking, except from former UM players who babble for no apparent reason. Harbaugh even insisted on throwing the record books out the windows, forcing Ann Arbor’s convoy of recycling trucks to visit Schembechler Hall multiple times. In response to the famous “Trouble with the Snap” game in 2015, when the Spartans scooped up a botched punt attempt and disrespectfully ran it all the way to the end zone, Harbaugh no longer plans to punt against MSU.

Bill Bender, The Sporting News: Michigan vs. Michigan State odds, prediction, betting trends for top-10 Big Ten showdown

It’s a rivalry game. Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed and receiver Keon Coleman must have monster games for the Spartans to have a chance because Michigan is going to make running the ball difficult. The throw-it-deep-formula worked in the 2020 upset, so Michigan cornerbacks DJ Turner and Gemon Green are going to have to be at their best early. Michigan must also stay patient with the ground game, because it hit in the second half. It will be tight at halftime and uncomfortable into the third, but a long TD run by Corum will swing the momentum in Michigan’s favor. The Wolverines will improve to 8-0 and reclaim the Paul Bunyan Trophy from there. 

Nick Baumgardner, The Athletic: Will Michigan turn J.J. McCarthy loose? Can Michigan State pull off an upset? Ask Nick

Although we are waiting for J.J. (McCarthy) to be “cut loose” in the passing game, if Michigan shows that they can win up front in run blocking, especially early, I don’t see a Harbaugh offense going away from that heavy run-first recipe, in this game or any remaining. Do you anticipate something different? — Jason E.

I want to spend more time on the first part of this. As to the second part, Jason: I do not. I think we saw Harbaugh completely go back to his fundamental “we are just trying to move the ball” approach to offense last season, and until that breaks, it’s not going to change.

As to the first part … I think, over time, two ideas have been conflated within college football fandom: the hypothetical of an offense growing and fulfilling its potential, and that of an offense playing left-handed all year before switching to a right-handed style (in dramatic fashion, of course). So, though Jason’s asking about this game specifically, I want to be careful with this one.

J.J. McCarthy’s growth as a passer within Harbaugh’s current offense will expand as the season goes on, yes, meaning that Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss will become more comfortable calling two or three extra shot attempts per game, perhaps in more challenging situations. Maybe Michigan’s call sheet on obvious passing downs even expands week to week to include more repped concepts. It’s probably a combination of both.

What it doesn’t mean, though, is that Michigan’s going to walk on the field one day this season and start playing like Mississippi State or Texas Tech, just because McCarthy is special.

The offense — Jim Harbaugh’s version of the offense — is the offense. It’s going to stay that way today, tomorrow and the day after that because, for as much as it has changed in feel and flavor, it still features a drop-back pass game rooted in West Coast offense principles. Why? Because they still work and probably always will.

Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal: Couch: MSU vs. Michigan is a changed football rivalry – mostly for how the Wolverines see the Spartans

If this game doesn’t go as expected, if Michigan doesn’t handle its business, the outcome for the Wolverines would be devastating.

And, yet, for Michigan to feel satisfied by Saturday night’s result at the Big House, I sense it has to inflict pain in ways that demonstrate a massive separation between the two teams. There’s no way to get back 15 years in one night or even the last two years. But you can win so emphatically that it, at least, makes a statement about the here and now.

“There’s no doubt (that’s how most U-M fans feel) because I’m hearing it,” Tom Crawford said. “I’ve got text messages from tons of Michigan people and some Michigan people I don’t even personally know that are on my (podcast) thread.”

Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football can no longer hide its contempt for Michigan State. Ain’t it grand?

No game means more to either team. Wait, hold on. I know what you’re thinking Wolverine elitist; you’re not being honest with yourself. Losing to the Spartans stings more than losing to the Buckeyes. So, spare me the gauzy, sepia-toned puffery about Ohio State. The late, great Gary Moeller knew it. You know it.  

Still don’t think so? Then ask yourself this: How would you feel if you lost 15 of 17 to the Spartans, including seven in a row and then eight in a row, as you did to Ohio State? 

Oh, wait, you do know how it feels, as you’ve lost 10 of the last 14 to the Spartans, and it felt far worse than all that losing to the Buckeyes. You can argue that the last 15 years have changed the rivalry on your end … or so the saying goes. 

Though I’m not buying either. 

Moeller famously said that the one game Wolverines didn’t want to lose was to MSU, and he said this when U-M was beating the Spartans four out of every five. And, still, it hurt … that … much. He even joked that he was gonna upset some alums by saying it. Because that’s not the popular narrative around Ann Arbor.

Well, Wolverines have been liberated. They can say out loud now how much they hate MSU. How much they want to shut Sparty up. How they are (a little) worried about Saturday night because even though they are favored by three touchdowns they remember two years ago, when U-M was favored big and lost.  

Austin Meek, The Athletic: Michigan’s renaissance under Jim Harbaugh still needs a win vs. Mel Tucker

“We know we’re the better team,” wide receiver Roman Wilson said. “We’ve gotta go out there and prove it. We just can’t let bull—- happen.”

No guarantees there. It’s hard to imagine a Michigan-Michigan State game without some sort of controversy: a missed call, a pregame confrontation, a weird ending that people will argue about for decades. That’s part of what makes the rivalry what it is. Weird things happen, and you can never trust the point spread to tell the whole story.

Michigan’s goals for the season are bigger than beating Michigan State. The Wolverines want to repeat as Big Ten champions, get back to the CFP and make a run at the national championship. They accomplished two of those three goals last year despite losing to the Spartans, but that’s not a formula they want to repeat.

For all the goals Michigan checked off last year, the list isn’t complete without a win against Michigan State. There’s still an empty spot where the Paul Bunyan Trophy should be.

“We want Paul back,” McCarthy said. “We want him back.”

Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football’s Blake Corum hopes journey to stardom takes him back to farm

“What do you think about when they hand you the ball?” I ask [Blake Corum].

“I don’t think — I just do,” he says. “I rely on all the work I put in over the years to take control.”

He smiles. He constantly smiles. To sit with Blake Corum is to be tested as to how long you can go without smiling back. It’s like interviewing a Cheshire cat.

But then, Corum, 21, has a lot to be happy about. He’s young, in college, and having a monster season — with 901 rushing yards in just seven games, and 13 touchdowns, which ties for best in the nation for running backs.

There are times when Corum runs that you almost tilt over just watching him lean. There are other times when he explodes into the secondary like one of those water bugs that shot across the creek waters of his youth.

He credits all this to endless practice, drills that he runs to cut around cones, drills to practice leaning while he speeds ahead. And he credits all that endless practice to his father.

Bruce Feldman, The Athletic: College football picks against the spread: Bruce Feldman’s Week 9 picks

Even when Michigan has won in this heated rivalry in recent years, MSU has managed to keep it relatively tight and prevent the Wolverines from covering. But my sense is this Michigan team is different from ones in the past and will keep its foot on the gas.

Stewart Mandel, The Athletic: College football picks against the spread: Stewart Mandel’s Week 9 picks

Mel Tucker is 2-0 against Michigan, and the Spartans have won 10 of the last 14 editions of this rivalry — which seems like a setup for the Wolverines to take out a whole lot of frustration in this one. State’s offense is a shell of last year’s Kenneth Walker III-led version and its defense is 105th nationally. Whereas Michigan is good at everything.

David Cobb, CBS Sports: Big Ten college football picks, odds in Week 9: Ohio State gets test at Penn State, Michigan seeks revenge

Michigan State has two straight wins the series and produced the only blemish on the Wolverines’ ledger prior to the College Football playoff last season. Michigan should be fuming over its recent lackluster showings against a fierce rival and chomping at the bit to issue some revenge. Considering this is a home game and the Wolverines need style points to inflate their resume because of a weak schedule, this is a recipe for a blowout. Weird things happen in this game all the time, and Michigan State showed some spunk in a 34-28 win over Wisconsin last week. But the Wolverines are coming off a bye and won’t be overlooking their in-state foe this time.

Pick: Michigan -23