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| Minnesota Golden Gophers | Michigan State Spartans |
The Michigan State Spartans have already clinched a spot in the upcoming Big Ten championship game, but they can take a perfect conference record into it if they can just get past the Minnesota Gophers Saturday afternoon in East Lansing.
Michigan State has won the Legends Division by going 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in Big Ten play. Most recently the Spartans dispatched of Northwestern 30-6, covering as touchdown favorites.
So Sparty is headed for a Big Ten championship game showdown with undefeated Ohio State, and possibly a BCS bowl.
Minnesota, meanwhile, was still in the race in the Legends Division, until losing at home to Wisconsin Saturday 20-7. Still, at 8-3 both SU and ATS the Gophers are enjoying their finest season in a decade.
In the early college football betting Michigan State, which has beaten Minnesota three times in a row, was favored by 15 points for Saturday's game at Sportsbook.
They bring a 10-1 record (7-3-1 ATS) to the Week 14 battle against the 8-3 Golden Gophers, who are 8-3 ATS against the spread. Over under bettors have seen Michigan State go 4-7 so far and the Golden Gophers go 6-5.
View Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan State Spartans Odds and Stats.
The Golden Gophers were listed as 14-point underdogs on the Sportsbook NCAA football line at Sportsbook and most sportsbooks tracked by OddsShark. No total was available early in the week.
According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 20-rated Spartans and the No. 64-rated Golden Gophers in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 39-27 win for the Spartans on Saturday.
Minnesota was a 20-7 loser in their most recent outing at home against Wisconsin. They covered the 17-point spread as underdogs, while the total score (27) made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. In their last game, Michigan State got a 150-yard performance from Jeremy Langford as a key part of its 30-6 win over Northwestern.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Michigan State's No. 56-ranked offense (30.82 PPG) against a Golden Gophers defense that ranks No. 37 at 23.09 PPG. The Spartans passing attack has averaged 198.64 yards per game, less than the Golden Gophers give up through the air (224.09 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Golden Gophers own the league's No. 28-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 134.25 yards per game when on the road. Michigan State, on the other hand, rates No. 50 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Golden Gophers at Spartans trends to consider:
Minnesota is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 7-16 SU in its last 23 games on the road
Michigan State is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Michigan State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Michigan State's last 5 games
Michigan State is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games at home
