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Early Look: Oregon vs Michigan State

by:Linden Hile•07/13/24

I think most fans remember the last time Oregon played Michigan State at Autzen Stadium.

The year was 2014 and the No. 7-ranked Spartans came to Eugene expecting to be a physical opponent the Ducks couldn’t stand up to.

After a back-and-forth first half, Oregon outscored Michigan State 28-3 in the second half and won 46-27.

This year figures to be a little different, and not necessarily to the chagrin of Oregon fans.

2024’s Michigan State team looks a lot different than the supposed national title contender that came to Autzen Stadium a decade ago.

Let’s talk about it.

The Spartans will have a new look in 2024 under former Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith.

The program has struggled both on and off the field in recent years, firing coach Mel Tucker two games into the 2023 season on their way to a 4-8 record.

Michigan State has the resources to be a much better team than they’ve been, and their hope in hiring Smith is that he can help them reach that potential.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, there’s not a lot of reason to think things will be much different this year, as Smith hasn’t exactly recruited the lights out since landing in East Lansing (MI).

He’ll be building another program from the ground up, and while his track record at Oregon State suggests he will get them on track in due time, the lack of talent in 2024 puts a pretty hard cap on what they can accomplish.

An early-October matchup at Autzen Stadium isn’t exactly a recipe for success for the Spartans, as the Ducks haven’t lost to any team other than Washington at home since 2018.

There figures to be a lot of work to be done before Michigan State can be competitive and Eugene will be an unforgiving environment.

I expect Oregon to step on the gas early with an aerial assault from Dillon Gabriel & Co., leading to a healthy lead at halftime.

From there, the run game should be able to drain clock and put a relatively easy win in the books.

Prediction: Oregon wins 45 – 17

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