After ending Ohio State's national title hopes in the Big Ten Championship Game Michigan State will next take on Stanford in this year's Rose Bowl on January 1.
The Spartans bounced the Buckeyes 34-24 as a 5.5-point underdog in the Big Ten Championship Game on December 7 to end up at No. 4 in the final BCS rankings.
The Cardinal topped Arizona State 38-14 in the Pac-12 Championship Game as 3-point underdogs on the betting lines, and they were No. 5 on the final BCS list.
Stanford is 4-0 ATS in its past four bowl games but face a Spartan squad that has been winning a lot and which is very dangerous as an underdog.
Michigan State is 14-1 SU in its past 15 games overall and 9-1-1 ATS past 11 games as underdogs. The line was holding at -6.5 for Stanford late Tuesday at Sportsbook.
This season the Cardinal are 11-2 overall and 7-6 ATS against the number, while the Spartans are 12-1 and 8-4-1 ATS. As for the totals, Stanford is 5-8 on the OU, and Michigan State is 5-8.
View Michigan State Spartans vs Stanford Cardinal Odds and Stats.
Bettors looking to back the visiting Spartans in this one found them as 3.5-point underdogs on the Sportsbook college football point spread at Sportsbook. The total was 42.5 at Sportsbook.
This game matches up the No. 19 (Cardinal) and the No. 12 (Spartans) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAF Power Rankings at OddsShark. A 38-35 result in favor of the Spartans is predicted by handicapping models.
Last time out for Michigan State, they were a 34-24 Sportsbook as they battled Ohio State at home. Michigan State covered in the match as a 5.5-point underdog, while 58 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Arizona State was unable to contain Tyler Gaffney in its last action Saturday and the result was a 38-14 Week 15 loss against the Cardinal.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Stanford's No. 39-ranked offense (33.23 PPG) against a Spartans defense that ranks No. 4 at 12.69 PPG. The Cardinal passing attack has averaged 202.15 yards per game, more than the Spartans give up through the air (167.38 YPG on average).
Defensively, the Spartans feature the league's No. 1-rated road run defense, allowing 77.6 yards per game. Stanford, meanwhile, ranks No. 33 in rushing offense at home.
