Michigan State at Northwestern

The Michigan State program after thriving for several years has really fallen down. The Spartans are just 10-21-2 over the last three years and prospects are not high for this season. The problem has been the offense has averaged exactly 20 points per game over the last 3 years. Those numbers drop to 18.4 points per game in conference play. The defense has helped them stay in games but not enough to cover the brutal offense. Northwestern has become competitive in the Big-10 because of an outstanding defense which was their best in team history a year ago allowing just 15.9 points per game. While they have to replace some key players the defense remains the team's calling card. This is the opener where the defenses tend to be better than the offenses as timing is sometimes an issue. This should be a defensive struggle and I will make the play on the UNDER.