SPARTANS

Detroit News predictions: Michigan State vs. Rutgers

The Detroit News
LJ Scott

Matt Charboneau, Angelique S. Chengelis, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski predict the outcome of the Michigan State-Rutgers game.

Matt Charboneau: The Spartans won’t be playing for a division championship but getting to nine wins and positioning themselves for a solid bowl game will be plenty of motivation. They’ll also push to keep the momentum rolling in their running attack while hoping to resurrect a passing game that was washed away last week. If Michigan State gets an early lead, this could get ugly quickly as the Scarlet Knights are just playing out the string for second-year coach Chris Ash. Michigan State, 31-13

Angelique S. Chengelis: Michigan State will finish what has been a season of positives on a high note at Rutgers. It will be the exclamation point on a season that many projected would be a seven-win record when they leave Piscataway with a 9-3 record. Quarterback Brian Lewerke will shine, as will the run game, and Michigan State’s defense, ranked No. 16 nationally, will budge very little against the Scarlet Knights. Michigan State, 38-10

John Niyo: Rutgers hasn't scored a touchdown in three weeks. And with an unsettled quarterback situation, that's probably not going to suddenly change in the regular-season finale. For Michigan State, the recipe is pretty simple: Hang on the football and they should be headed somewhere warm for the holidays. Michigan State, 28-10

Bob Wojnowski: As it turns out, Rutgers isn’t the worst team in the Big Ten, and actually has shown glimmers of improvement. This is their season finale with no bowl, and the Scarlet Knights have won three of their last four at home. The Spartans are on the verge of an improbable and impressive 9-3 season, but they won’t stroll through this one. They’ve played conservatively of late with big doses of LJ Scott, and expect more of the same. Michigan State, 20-10

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