Michigan State owns the recent football rivalry with Indiana, winning the last seven meetings straight up and going 6-1 against the spread. The Spartans hope to keep that streak alive and stay in the Big Ten East race when they visit Bloomington on Saturday night to take on the Hoosiers.
Point spread: The Spartans opened as eight-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report)
College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 35-32.4 Hoosiers (college football picks on every game)
Why the Michigan State Spartans can cover the spread
Michigan State is looking to bounce back after losing at home to Wisconsin last week 30-6. But that final score is slightly misleading, as the Spartans took an early 3-0 lead on a Michael Geiger field goal and only trailed at the half 13-6.
Then, driving toward the tying score early in the third quarter, Michigan State running back LJ Scott coughed up the football, and Wisconsin safety Leo Musso returned it 66 yards for a score. From there, the Spartans couldn't muster a response in suffering their first loss at home since November 2014.
On the day, Michigan State outgained the Badgers 325-317, but four turnovers did it in.
Two weeks ago, the Spartans showed what they're capable of, beating Notre Dame in South Bend 36-28. And that game wasn't as close as the score might indicate, considering Michigan State scored 36 unanswered points to take a big lead before allowing the Irish to make things respectable.
Why the Indiana Hoosiers can cover the spread
Indiana is also trying to bounce back after taking its first loss of the year, a 33-28 setback against Wake Forest last week. The Hoosiers took a 7-0 lead on the first play of the game, a 75-yard Richard Lagow-to-Nick Westbrook connection, but they fell down 21-7 at the half and 24-7 early in the third quarter. Indiana then scored twice, cutting the deficit to 27-21 with plenty of time left to play, but it couldn't complete the comeback.
On the day, the Hoosiers piled up 611 yards of offense but committed five turnovers, which led to 17 Demon Deacons points. They had a field goal blocked and committed nine penalties for 84 yards.
Indiana opened this season with a 34-13 victory over Florida International, then beat Ball State 30-20. At the moment, the Hoosiers rank 16th in the country in total offense at 517 yards per game.
Smart pick
Michigan State beat Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago, but that victory doesn't look as good now after the Irish just lost at home to Duke. The Spartans are also having a little trouble at quarterback. Meanwhile, last week notwithstanding, Indiana probably has its best team in six seasons under head coach Kevin Wilson. If the Hoosiers can eliminate the turnovers, they've got a chance to pull off the upset here.
Betting trends
Michigan State is 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in its last seven games against Indiana.
The total has gone over in eight of Indiana's last 10 games.
Michigan State is 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in its last six games after a loss.
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