Michigan vs. Michigan State Betting Odds and Analysis

The 115th meeting between Michigan and Michigan State will take place Saturday, Oct. 29 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

The undefeated, No. 4-ranked Wolverines are 22.5 point favorites, according to BetMGM Michigan and Caesars Michigan. Once again, sports fans in Michigan can wager legally on the annual rivalry game between the state’s most prominent football programs with Michigan online sports betting.

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Michigan vs. Michigan State Betting Odds

The Spartans have beaten the Wolverines in each of the last two meetings, inflicting the only loss of U-M’s 2021 regular season. The Wolverines are a dismal 4-10 against “little brother” since. Since he took over in 2015, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is 3-4 against the in-state rival.

You can get MSU as high as +1160 on the moneyline, from FanDuel Michigan. That means a $100 winning bet on the Spartans in Saturday’s game would pay off for $1,160. The Over/Under is set around 53.5 points, depending on the sportsbook.

Saturday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, and can be seen on ABC, or listened to on the Wolverines or Spartans radio networks statewide.

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Wolverines’ Defense Will Force Thorne to Beat Them

If Payton Thorne can tell green from blue, the Spartans may have a chance on Saturday. Thus far, the senior QB has thrown seven interceptions. He’s finding it hard to get the football into the hands of his receiving corps, but he’s doing a good job of hitting the players in the wrong color uniform. The Wolverines allow 164 yards per game in the air, and the defense has surrendered five passing TDs.

It might be a very troubling day for Thorne and his teammates. U-M has built its team on the defensive unit, which has allowed 250 yards per game, including  86 on the ground. Basically, Thorne will be forced to do what he doesn’t do well: throw downfield.

Only Ohio State is gaining more yards than the Wolverines among Big Ten teams, and Big Blue does it the hard way: running the football into the chest of the defense. Michigan’s big offensive line and physical running backs just challenge defenders to stop them, barreling over them if need be.

The most exciting offensive weapon for the Wolverines is Blake Corum, a running back built almost exactly like Barry Sanders, with a similar hop-step and knack for making tacklers hug air. Corum is the highest-rated RB in the country, priced at +1200 to win the Heisman Trophy, according to FanDuel.

The only common opponent for Michigan and MSU is Maryland, which beat the Spartans and gave the Wolverines all they could handle in Ann Arbor before losing by a touchdown. But those two games were different: Maryland pushed the MSU defense around, while the Wolverines outlasted the Terrapins with superior talent.

Harbaugh and his team likely view this game as a chance to measure themselves against their true rival — the Ohio State Buckeyes. In its game against the Spartans, Ohio State put 49 points on the board. The Wolverines will have the motivation to meet or exceed that total while also humiliating a program that has been a headache recently.

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Betting Recommendation: Michigan by 26

The Wolverines own a 71–38–5 series lead in this rivalry with the team from East Lansing, dating back to 1893, but the ledger sheet can be ripped up when the rivals meet. This is about bragging rights, a deep-seated hatred between two very different schools and campuses, and the Paul Bunyan Trophy.

In the Great Lakes State, Spartans fans have long felt that U-M fans are snobby, arrogant, and elitist. But, when the schools meet on the field, “Moo U” has held its own in recent years against Michigan, which garners more national attention for various reasons, including a controversial coach.

But the 2022 versions of these teams are not closely matched. The Wolverines’ offensive line and defensive unit will outclass the Spartans, and once the U-M running game gets rolling, there will be nothing that MSU defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and his hipster beard will be able to do about it. Look for Corum to run for oodles of yards, for unexciting and safe sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy to actually provide some thrills, and for the Michigan defense to expose Thorne’s arm as a missile without a guidance system.

Our Pick: Michigan 49, Michigan State 23

AP Photo/Al Goldis