One of the biggest college football games of the season will be played this weekend, when the undefeated Michigan Wolverines travel to East Lansing to take on their in-state rival, the Michigan State Spartans.
The game is scheduled for 12 pm ET on Saturday, October 30 at Spartan Stadium.
Both teams are undefeated and both are ranked in national college polls. The winning team will take home the Paul Bunyan Trophy and are almost certain to be in the discussion for not just the Big Ten Championship, but potentially the College Football Championship as well.
Saturday’s matchup will also mark the first time since 1964 that both schools are ranked in the top 10 nationally.
How the teams got here
The Wolverines (7-0 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) enter the contest ranked No. 6 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches polls, and fresh off a 33-7 win against Northwestern on October 23. So far, Michigan has played only one other Big Ten East team, Rutgers, whom they dispatched 20-13 on September 25. The rest of its league opponents, Nebraska and Wisconsin, are in the West.
Michigan rolled over two MAC teams, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan, plus the PAC-12’s Washington to get to 7-0. They had a bye on October 16.
Meanwhile, the Spartans (7-0 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) are coming off a bye week ranked No. 7 in the Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll. Last week they defeated Big Ten East rival Indiana, 20-15. Like the Wolverines, the Spartans got to 4-0 in league play by besting Nebraska, Northwestern and Rutgers.
Michigan State defeated Miami (FL), Western Kentucky and Youngstown State to get to 7-0 overall.
A win by either team sets them up for a pivotal matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten). Michigan State travels to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes on November 20, while the Wolverines will host Ohio State in Ann Arbor on November 27.
Ohio State is likely to remain undefeated by the time they get to either Michigan or Michigan State. The Buckeyes play Nebraska (3-5 overall, 1-4 Big Ten) on November 6 and Purdue (4-3 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) on November 13. The Buckeyes’ only blemish so far this year was a 35-28 loss to Oregon on September 11.
The last time Michigan faced Michigan State in football was in Ann Arbor in 2020, during the pandemic-shortened season. Michigan State upset Michigan, which was ranked No. 13 at the time, 27-24.
Odds for Wolverines @ Spartans, 12 pm ET, Saturday, Oct. 30
| Sportsbook | Team | Spread | Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetRivers MI | Michigan | -4 (-114) | -195 | O 50.5 (-108) |
| Michigan State | +4 (-107) | +155 | U 50.5 (-113) | |
| BetMGM MI | Michigan | -4 (-110) | -190 | O 50.5 (-110) |
| Michigan State | +4 (-110) | +160 | U 50.5 (-110) | |
| FanDuel MI | Michigan | -3.5 (-114) | -200 | O 49.5 (-112) |
| Michigan State | +3.5 (-106) | +160 | U 49.5 (-108) | |
| FOX Bet MI | Michigan | -4 (-105) | -188 | O 49.5 (-110) |
| Michigan State | +4 (-110) | +160 | U 49.5 (-110) |
Notes on the game
BetRivers Sportsbook MI remarked that Michigan State has failed to cover the spread in each of its last seven games against opponents ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.
At FOX Bet MI, the sportsbook is offering two Bet Boosts: 5x Your Money if both teams throw an interception (+400) and 8x Your Money if both teams score in every quarter (+700).
Other items of note:
- In the seven games Michigan has played this year, they have covered the spread six times (6-0). The Wolverines are 4-1 against the spread this season when favored by 4 points or more;
- Michigan State is 5-1-1 against the spread this season. The Spartans covered the spread in the one game where they were the underdog by 4 points or more;
- The Wolverines are averaging 19.0 more points per game (37.7) this season than the Spartans allow (18.7). Meanwhile, the Spartans are averaging 34.3 points per game, which is 20.0 points more than the Wolverines allow (14.3).
