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Michigan State Preview and Prediction
By MO'Cats
Matchup: Northwestern Wildcats (1-3, 1-1) at #20 Michigan State Spartans (3-1,1-0)
Date: 11 a.m. CDT, Saturday, October 6, 2018, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI
TV: FS1
Line: Northwestern (+10), O/U 43.5
Last Game Review: Well, after jumping out to a
17 point lead last week, many Northwestern fans believed that NU was
going to be able to pull another magic turnaround as they have done the
past few seasons. Oops, 20 unanswered points and it was all
over. Michigan dominated the second half and the Cat offense has
yet to score a second half point against a Power 5 school this
season. Thorson was anemic on offense and Moten was not able to
break anything to open up the passing game.
Outlook: Well, NU has played well against
Sparty the last few contests and hopefully this will be the start of
something big. The West side of the B1G is just a disaster and
with a few breaks, the optimist in me, still thinks Indy is a
possibility. MSU is beat up and injured as much as the
'cats. Sparty lost another receiver last week and their offensive
line is struggling. The running game will rely on freshman
La'Darius Jefferson (a bruiser) with QB Brian Lewerke keeping the ball
on the ground as well. The blueprint for success for the 'Cats
would be take advantage of a depleted WR corps, have Paddy spy Lewerke,
and double cover Felton Davis. Paddy needs a HUGE game this week
for the D to have any success. Stats can be manipulated and
interpreted anyway you want, but how about these. The 'Cats allow
379 yards per game and rank last in the B1G in red zone defense.
Oh did I mention that they are 121st out of 129th in that category as
well. That has to change. On the other
side of the ball, it does not look good. Sparty has the leading
run defense in the nation (allowing only 40.3 yards/game) and the
offensive line woes for the 'Cats continue. Thorson ended
up on his back 6 times last week and I expect more of the same this
week. Over the past two seasons, the NU offense has been able to crack
the Sparty defense by using quick passes and lots of underneath
crossing routes en route to 2 straight victories. This may be the
blueprint for success today as well. We shall see.
Pick: Unfortunately, I see a pick six deciding this
game as the corner jumps a route. Michigan St. 24, NU
17. Michigan St wins but NU covers.
Season to Date: Straight up, 2-2. Against the Spread, 3-1
The Lowes Line is an
e-mailed description of NU's
next
football game, with an invariably fearless prediction of the outcome
and
how NU will fare against what the other "experts" predict. Our
good
friend and Brother Marcus Lowes began the broadcast mailing in 1996.
The crack Lowes Line Staff (alumni Jersey Cat,
GallopingGrapes, Eric Cockerill, Joel Kanvik, Charlie Simon, and
MO'Cats) have continued the Line in memory of Marcus.
For
the 2018 season it has returned to HailToPurple.com,
for anyone to enjoy. Thanks to the gridiron brain trust at the Lowes
Line!
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