Fox’s Joel Klatt picks winner of Michigan vs. MSU, best bet for the game

Michigan will enter East Lansing as a sizable favorite over rival Michigan State this weekend. The Wolverines have defeated MSU in the past three contests and Michigan is expected to do the same this weekend. Now, with rivalry games, anything can happen, but there is a clear talent discrepancy.

Michigan knows it has to win out if the Wolverines hope to make the College Football Playoff and MSU has really struggled, losing its last four games.

While Michigan is expected to win the game, who covers the spread? The Wolverines are now a 14.5 point favorite, and Fox analyst Joel Klatt helped break down the game and gave his opinion on the line.

Klatt believes Michigan is going to win this game, but again, it’s a rivalry game, and the Spartans should throw everything at the Wolverines. Jonathan Smith could go deep in the playbook to pull out some trickery. While Klatt sees Michigan winning the game, he thinks Michigan State will cover.

“The only thing for me on the Michigan State side is that this is a kitchen sink type of game. You throw the kitchen sink at Michigan, you’re at home. It’s a rivalry game,” said Klatt.

“And let’s face it, Michigan has not run away from anybody this year. So the 14.5 looks like a big number. The score that I land on is Michigan 30 -17, which means a 13-point win, which means I’m going to take the home points for Michigan State.”

Klatt talked about how Michigan unlocked the ‘Rubik’s Cube’ last weekend against Washington. It was a vintage Michigan win. The Wolverines blocked well, ran the ball hard, and QB Bryce Underwood played as efficiently as he had all season. Andrew Marsh has emerged as a top target for Underwood and the Wolverines’ defense was fantastic.

Michigan State doesn’t do anything well on the defensive end. Run defense is poor and Jordan Marshall could be in store for a big game. While Klatt is correct that MSU could pull out all the stops, Michigan is still the better team.

14.5 points is a lot on the road against a rival, but if the Wolverines play their game, against a struggling MSU defense, Michigan should be able to get it done.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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