Michigan Football vs Michigan State: Best bets for Week 9

We break down Michigan football and Michigan State from a betting perspective and offer the best bets for the Wolverines. 

The kickoff between Michigan football and Michigan State is getting closer. But for the first time this year (in Big Ten play) the Wolverines will be playing at night (7:30 PM EST).

It’s going to be a long wait and if anyone remembers, the last time the Spartans and Wolverines played a night game at the Big House, it didn’t exactly go as planned.

Michigan football fans and the Wolverines themselves are looking to exorcise some demons. Jim Harbaugh has talked openly about how badly he wants to win this game. The players have talked about it too.

Harbaugh mentioned beating Michigan State at Big Ten Media Days. So it has been a focus and the Spartans have the Wolverines’ full attention.

Outside of winning a second Big Ten championship, it’s hard to imagine calling it a successful season without the Wolverines stopping the losing streak against Michigan State.

Looking at the odds, Michigan football is a 22.5-point favorite according to Fan Duel. We have already broken down those odds but here’s a look at the best bests for the Wolverines against the Spartans in Week 9.

Best bets for Michigan football and MSU in Week 9

While I do expect Michigan to win this game against the Spartans, I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be a blowout. I could see the Wolverines winning by double-digits and yes, a win by 23 points or more is possible, but I’d tend to take the Spartans with the points (22.5).

This is going to be their Super Bowl and Michigan will get their best effort. Michigan has more talent and that will win out, but the Wolverines won’t pull away until the second half.

Another bet I like for this matchup is J.J. McCarthy. Fan Duel has the over/under for touchdown passes set at 1.5 and I feel like it’s not that bold to predict two touchdown passes. The Spartans are 13th in passing yards allowed in the Big Ten, last in passing yards per attempt, and 12th in terms of passing touchdowns allowed.

Their focus is going to be on stopping Blake Corum and that will open some things up for McCarthy, who I believe is going to play much better in the last five games.

So, I’d take that bet. I would also take Blake Corum to run for more than 116.5 yards. That’s the over/under (via Fan Duel) for him. Michigan State is 11th in the Big Ten in rushing yards allowed and 10th in rushing yards per attempt which doesn’t bode well for stopping Corum.

Blake The Great has gotten at least 120 yards in every Big Ten game this year and that includes Iowa and Penn State, which both had “elite” run defenses going into the matchup.

The offensive line wants to prove a point. I don’t see Michigan football running for 400 yards as it did against Penn State, but I’d be surprised if Corum didn’t run for at least 117 yards.

Michigan State’s offense still has some talented players in Jayden Reed and Keon Coleman. I wouldn’t sleep on Jalen Berger either, although he didn’t do much for Wisconsin last season against the Wolverines.

That being said, Payton Thorne is a talented QB and I wouldn’t be shocked if the Spartans scored a few times. Hopefully, a couple of those scores will be field goals but the over/under is 54.5 points and I see the two rivals getting past that number.

(Odds are subject to change)