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.
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.
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