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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Robert Bondy

Michigan State at Illinois: Can Spartans bounce back against rolling Fighting Illini?

It’s been a rough few days for Michigan State football and things won’t get any easier this week against a red hot Illinois Fighting Illini squad.

The Spartans enter Saturday’s tilt against the Fighting Illini off another double-digit loss — this time at the hands of rival Michigan. Even worse was the postgame scuffle that resulted in four players being suspended.

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Illinois, on the other hand, enters this game with victories in each of their last six games. The Fighting Illini are 7-1 on the season with their lone loss coming against Indiana in early September.

Can Michigan State find a way to flush last week’s black-eye performance and incident by upsetting Illinois? Here are our score predictions for Michigan State-Illinois and how we see this Big Ten battle playing out:

Andrew Brewster

Prediction: MSU 35, Illinois 21

I still think Michigan State has enough firepower, unless many more players are suspended, to handle Illinois in this one.

Cory Linsner

Prediction: MSU 21, Illinois 20

I actually think Michigan State matches up well Illinois and i think they will feel the pressure to turn this season around. Spartans take a close one.

Robert Bondy

Prediction: MSU 13, Illinois 24

Illinois in a lot of ways is just like the Wolverines, and we saw how that went for the Spartans last week. The Fighting Illini don’t necessarily have the same talent level as Michigan but they will be just as tough defensively and boast an equally impressive rushing attack. So this isn’t a matchup where I like the Spartans chances.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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