Michigan State vs. UCLA: Score predictions, analysis from Spartans Wire staff

Can Michigan State pull off a massive upset of top 10 UCLA this upcoming weekend? The Spartans Wire staff has their doubts... Michigan State football is heading out west to play at UCLA for the first time since the Bruins joined the Big Ten. The Spartans come into this game in search of their first

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What is the story about?

Can Michigan State pull off a massive upset of top 10 UCLA this upcoming weekend? The Spartans Wire staff has their doubts...

Michigan State football is heading out west to play at UCLA for the first time since the Bruins joined the Big Ten. The Spartans come into this game in search of their first Big Ten win of the season. Michigan State has lost five straight games, and sits at 2-5 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play.

UCLA is riding the high wave of new head coach Bob Chesney, with a perfect 6-0 start to the season this year. The Bruins have climbed up to No. 9 in the AP poll and are quickly becoming one of the favorites to win the Big Ten and reach the College Football Playoff this season.

This game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday

from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The game will be televised on CBS.

Let's take a look at our predictions for this week's matchup between Michigan State and UCLA below:

Andrew Brewster

Michigan State’s head coach Pat Fitzgerald waits for the team to leave the field after MSU’s loss to Northwestern the game on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Prediction: UCLA 28, Michigan State 17

MSU has been short-handed of late, but still fought admirably, only to fall just short. That's pretty demoralizing for a program. UCLA is undefeated and this will be a tough road game in LA for the Spartans.

Cory Linsner

Michigan State’s Anelu Lafaele celebrates after a stop against Northwestern during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Prediction: UCLA 24, Michigan State 13

Michigan State says they’re close, but they haven’t had offensive success against a good defense this season. UCLA will be a much more formidable test than the last two weeks.

Robert Bondy

Michigan State's Alessio Milivojevic scrambles against UCLA during the third quarter on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

Prediction: UCLA 24, Michigan State 17

Michigan State is playing better as of late but traveling out west is never easy. Combine that with UCLA having a pretty darn good defense and I struggle to find the Spartans putting up enough points to pull the upset.

Rest of our Big Ten picks

Nov 19, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes players celebrate with the Floyd of Rosedale after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Interested in our picks for the rest of the Big Ten games this week? Click here to check out our picks against the spread for each Big Ten game on the schedule this week.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State vs. UCLA: Score predictions, analysis from Spartans Wire staff