The Michigan State Spartans and the Minnesota Golden Gophers meet Saturday in college football action from TCF Bank Stadium. Michigan State is coming off a big game versus Michigan over the weekend. In that one the Spartans fell in a blowout defeat for a 2-5 overall record so far. As for Minnesota, they played Iowa back on Saturday. The 4-3 Gophers would go on to eke out a low-scoring upset victory. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Michigan State Spartans 

Michigan State started out this year well enough with a pair of victories in their first two outings. Those came 31-7 versus Central Michigan and 45-14 versus Richmond. The schedule got significantly harder in the ensuing games however, and the Spartans hit the skids with losses to Washington 41-7, Maryland 31-9, Iowa 26-16 and Rutgers 27-24. 

In Saturday’s big rivalry matchup versus Michigan, the Spartans gave up two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters on the way to an ugly 49-0 blowout loss. Quarterback Katin Houser finished with 101 yards and an interception. Nathan Carter led the rush with 36 yards and Maliq Carr had two catches for 32 yards. 

Michigan State Spartans Team Facts

• Michigan State has lost each of its last six games against conference opponents.
• The favorite has covered the spread in seven of Michigan State’s last eight games.
• Michigan State has lost the first half in four of its last five games against conference opponents.
• Eight of Michigan State’s last nine road games in October have gone UNDER the total points line.

Minnesota Golden Gophers 

Over on the Gophers’ side, they also won their first two games this year, taking out Nebraska 13-10 and Eastern Michigan 25-6. Minnesota lost to North Carolina 31-13 and Northwestern 37-34 (OT) before bagging another win over Louisiana 35-24, though. Game six was another loss, this time 52-10 versus Michigan. 

Matched up against Iowa in their last outing, the Gophers defense really stood out. Minnesota outscored the Hawkeyes 9-0 in the second half on the way to a comeback win 12-10. QB Athan Kaliakmanis posted a tepid 126 yards, most of them to Daniel Jackson who finished with 101 yards on seven catches. Darius Taylor added 59 rush yards on 16 carries. 

Minnesota Golden Gophers Team Facts

• Minnesota has won seven of its last eight October home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Minnesota has covered the spread in seven of its last eight October home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Eight of Minnesota’s last nine home games against conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Michigan State has scored fewer than 10 points in three home games this season – most of any FBS team.

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stay with Minnesota here. So long as the Gophers don’t suffer the proverbial big-win hangover, that is. Minnesota was excellent on the defensive side versus Iowa over the weekend, giving up just 127 total yards (116 passing), three takeaways, nine first downs and 4-of-15 on third-down tries. The Gophers are just 2-3 in their last five games with a couple of blowouts mixed in there, but they’ve looked very good in the right matchups. 

As for Michigan State, not much has gone right this year. The Spartans were dominated by Michigan in their last matchup and have now scored 16 points or fewer in four of the last five games. This will probably be a lower-scoring game as well, and I like the Gophers to keep it going with another good defensive showing.