In a first-ever meeting, the Michigan State Spartans, after a sluggish season opener against Western Michigan, welcome the Bulls of South Florida to East Lansing Saturday afternoon (12 pm ET, ESPNU).

In the early betting Sparty, which was favored by 27 points last week over the Broncos but only scored 26, were chalked by 23 points over USF, which gave up 53 points in an opening-weekend upset loss to McNeese State.

SFU has lost six in a row as an underdog while the Spartans have struggled to a 1-8 ATS mark as a favorite lately.



View South Florida vs Michigan State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: The Spartans were listed as 17.5-point favorites at sportsbooks such as Sportsbook on the college football lines. The total was 43.5 over at Sportsbook and expected to move.

Power Rankings / Prediction: According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 48-rated Spartans and the No. 92-rated Bulls in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 41--4 win for the Spartans on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Michigan State's No. 68-ranked offense, averaging 26 PPG, against a Bulls defense that ranks No. 116 this week at 53 PPG. The Spartans aerial game is averaging 116 yards per game, less than the Bulls secondary allows through the air, 244 YPG per game.



In their last action, South Florida was a 53-21 loser at home against McNeese State. They failed to cover the 20.5-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (74) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Marcus Shaw went over the 100-yard mark (145) in his team's latest effort, but McNeese State still defeated South Florida by a score of 53-21.

Michigan State won its last outing, a 26-13 result against Western Michigan on August 30. Michigan State failed to cover in that game as a 28-point favorite, while the 39 combined points took the game UNDER the total. The Spartans grabbed a Week 1 victory over the Broncos in their last game, winning 26-13 at Spartan Stadium.


South Florida Bulls Trends:
When playing in September are 6-4
When playing on grass are 2-8
After being outgained are 1-9
When playing outside the conference are 5-5

Michigan State Spartans Trends:
When playing in September are 7-3
When playing on grass are 5-5
After outgaining opponent are 4-6
When playing outside the conference are 8-2

A few Bulls at Spartans trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of South Florida's last 5 games
South Florida is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
South Florida is 1-10 SU in its last 11 games
South Florida is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Michigan State's last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Michigan State's last 8 games
Michigan State is 19-5 SU in its last 24 games at home
Michigan State is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games


Next up:
South Florida home to Florida Atlantic, Saturday, September 14
Michigan State home to Youngstown State, Saturday, September 14