 |  |
| Michigan State Spartans | Illinois Fighting Illini |
| 6-1 | October 26, 2013, 03:30 | Memorial Stadium | 3-3 |
The Fighting Illini hope to be bad hosts on Saturday as the Spartans pay a visit to Memorial Stadium in Week 9 betting action.
They bring a 3-3 record (3-3 ATS) to the Week 9 battle against the 6-1 Spartans, who are 3-3-1 ATS against the spread. Over under bettors have seen Illinois go 4-2 so far and the Spartans go 3-4.
View Michigan State Spartans vs Illinois Fighting Illini Odds and Stats.
The home team opened as 13-point underdogs in this NCAA football battle at Sportsbook. No over under line was available early in the week, but was set to posted shortly.
The Fighting Illini sit at No. 103 in the current NCAAF Power Rankings here at OddsShark, while the Spartans are at No. 35 on that chart. Math models have concluded that the Spartans will win this game 39-28.
Michigan State won its last outing, a 14-0 result against Purdue on October 19. Michigan State failed to cover in that game as a 27.5-point favorite, while the 14 combined points took the game UNDER the total. Last time out for the the Fighting Illini, they were scorched by $WinningWR for 105 receiving yards against the Badgers in a 56-32 loss at Memorial Stadium.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Illinois's No. 35-ranked offense (35.33 PPG) against a Spartans defense that ranks No. 4 at 13.57 PPG. The Fighting Illini passing attack has averaged 287.67 yards per game, more than the Spartans give up through the air (168.86 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Spartans own the league's No. 3-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 50.5 yards per game when on the road. Illinois, on the other hand, rates No. 87 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Spartans at Fighting Illini trends to consider:
Michigan State is 4-0-1 SU in its last 5 games
Michigan State is 9-1-1 ATS in its last 11 games on the road
Michigan State is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Michigan State's last 5 games on the road
Illinois is 5-19-1 SU in its last 25 games
Illinois is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Illinois is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Illinois's last 5 games at home
Next up:
Michigan State at Michigan, Saturday, November 2nd
Illinois at Penn State, Saturday, November 2nd
