The Michigan State Spartans head to Lincoln Nebraska in search of their first road win of the season. MSU is coming off a bye and an injury filled loss to USC as Nebraska is also coming off a bye and a close defeat to the weasels. The good news about this one is the 4pm start time. Spartan Nation can take a breath as they do not have to stay up all night to watch. MSU enters the contest as an 11 point dog with a 4-9 all time record against the Huskers and 1-6 in Lincoln (additional loss was the ’03
Alamo Bowl). The last couple of Lincoln trips in 2015 and 2018 were very excruciating losses that many of us still have PTSD from, especially 2015.
Nebraska is sitting unranked at 3-1 just like MSU and both programs are looking for a directional change and this matchup could be a catalyst for the winner. Nebraska’s three wins have come against Cincinnati, Akron and Houston Christian. They put up 68 against Akron and 59 against Houston Christian. Those are the amount of points one would expect to see against those opponents. Their first loss came against the AA Weasels. It was a bit of a crazy game with 3 touchdowns in the lat two minutes of the first half including a completed Hail Mary at the whistle. The weasels had three touchdowns on runs of 75, 54 and 37. Similar to how the Trojan backfield lit up MSU, Nebraska felt the same thumping.
Nebraska is 3rd in the nation in passing offense. This should be a major red flag for every Spartan fan. Dylan Raiola is QB1 and has put up some numbers to start the season. He has almost 1200 yards passing and that includes sitting out parts of games due to the leads established. He spreads the ball around nicely as Barney Jr and Key lead the team in receiving and 3 TD’s each. Emmett Johnson leads the Husker backfield with 391 yards and 5 touchdowns while averaging almost 98 yards per game.
MSU passing defense comes in ranked 116 and has been eaten alive all season. The lack of pressure from the line has given opposing QB’s enough time to order a pumpkin spiced latté while still completing the pass. Injuries to Matthews, Martinez and Dunnigan and Pretzlaff has already thinned out a weak group. At the time this article is being written Matthews is likely out, Pretzlaff is done for the season and Martinez and Dunnigan are wait and sees. Rossi hopefully used the bye to find some better schemes with the changing personnel and figure out some way to put pressure on Raiola.
MSU run defense had been pretty decent until USC made them look like Swiss cheese. MSU needs to contain the edges and stop the run to turn Nebraska into a one dimensional attack. There seems to be some physicality missing from the defense and if they can change that against Nebraska and put them on their heels they may be able to create some opportunities. Nebraska’s offense has been spotty against P4 teams and MSU will need a few key stops and taking advantage of field flips.
The Nebraska defense is coming into the game as the nations best pass defense. MSU is not a top offense but it does have a lot of weapons which may keep State in the game if the play calling can find the right plays at the right times. Chiles will have to be careful with ball placement but Nebraska plays physical and there could be an advantage to almost throw into opportunities for interference calls. Risky, but MSU needs 6 wins, nobody cares how they get them. The Husker run defense looked very beatable as the weasels ran all over them. Frazier should be feeling better with the bye week and with his vision and physical play may finally break one in this game. That will require the offensive line to make the blocks, but MSU is going to need this. Chiles’ ability to scramble will also be problematic for Nebraska if he gets out in the open. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule mentioned in his presser this week that he very concerned about MSU and their ability to run the ball and do all the things that trouble Nebraska. He’s also given Chiles a great compliment of being a pro style quarterback and a thinker with his audibles. He knows MSU is going to run and they need to stop it.
Rhule’s other concern is Eckley. He is confident in his team’s return game and wants them to make smart decisions but he is very aware of Eckley’s ability to flip the field. MSU has shown some spark in the return game and it will be another opportunity for MSU to find a spark.
Nebraska has just one interception thrown and one lost fumble this season so they are very good at protecting the ball. So, while turnovers would be nice, they may be hard to come by. This game screams shootout to me and would definitely bet the over. If MSU can run the ball and capitalize on, well let’s be honest, every possession, then they have a shot to stay in it. It is going to be tough to stop the Nebraska pass attack which will make this a battle of offenses.
Okay TOC Nation, who do you have? What is the matchup you think MSU can take advantage of?
