The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans take on the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in Columbus, and even after upsetting then-No. 7 Penn State last weekend, Sparty still enters this game as an underdog. MSU entered as a 15.5-point dog against OSU (now up to 17 at some books), and when Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio was informed of these numbers, his immediate reaction was a smile.
Michigan State is a *big* underdog this week at Ohio State.
— Michigan St. on BTN (@MichiganStOnBTN) November 7, 2017
Thoughts, @MSU_Football coach @DantonioMark? pic.twitter.com/GrTmcxJcbu
Let’s see that smile one more time, shall we?
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Now, Dantonio has a right to smile here. In 2015, the last time MSU played in Columbus, the Spartans entered as 14.5-point underdogs. Sparty upset Ohio State 17-14 on a game-winning field goal
In 2013, Michigan State was a 5.5-point underdog and ended up winning by 10. This game is huge for Sparty’s Big Ten Championship Game hopes, to say the least. Sparty is co-leader with OSU in the Big Ten East, and if it wins out, it’ll earn a berth in the conference title game. While Michigan State’s two losses to Northwestern and Notre Dame hurt Sparty’s overall Playoff hopes, winning out is critical if it wants to even be in the conversation.
We’ll see if Michigan State can have success again on the road as an underdog this week.