College Football 27 Predicts Michigan State Football vs. Toledo

The Spartans and Michigan State football are now within 24 hours of kickoff. Pat Fitzgerald faces his first test with Toledo, a school he has never squared off with and one the Spartans have not seen since 1925. As a result, the question becomes how will they fare?

Well, with the anticipation killing me, I fired up the best sim engine available: EA Sports’s College Football 27. Now, it was not exactly the most comforting last time I fired it up, predicting a humiliating 1-11 season when I simulated a season with early access.

With a recent roster update out, the Spartans now have multiple new players, including Samson Gash, Jameel Gardiner Jr., Leonard Ah You, and more.

That said, how did the Spartans fair in the simulation? In the end, the Spartans squeaked out with a win. It was not comforting, however.

Here is what happened.

Note: Zero plays were called by me, with me just spectating without a side selected. This was the first and only simulation I sat and watched. The game was ran with 15 minute quarters and accelerated clock to 13 seconds.

Mandatory Reminder: This is a COMPUTER SIMULATION.

First Quarter

Michigan State football received the ball first, and drove down the field, highlighted by a 20-yard run by Cam Edwards and a 15-yard touchdown catch on a slant by Fredrick Moore on back-to-back plays. This came despite an Andrew Zock sack during the drive.

Toledo answered, driving the ball into the MSU red zone and CJ Miller ran in for a nine-yard touchdown to tie the game with 2:50 left in the first quarter.

The Spartans drove to the 50-yard line but had to punt. Rhys Dakin pinned the ball on the five to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Rockets were forced into their own punt by a Caleb Wheatland tackle for loss on third down. The Spartans answered with their own punt after a Carson Gulker drop on third down.

The Rockets drove down the field for a go-ahead score, with CJ Miller punching the ball in from 7 yards out at the halfway point of the second quarter.

The Spartans and Rockets exchanged punts, with the Spartans forcing back-to-back sacks inside the two-minute timeout.

Michigan State football drove back to tie the game with another Moore touchdown after massive gains by Chrishon McCray in the final minute of the half.

Toledo got within range for a 53-yard field goal attempt, but it was short to end half.

Third Quarter

The Spartans, in a video game simulation, kept their season-opening safety streak alive, forcing a Toledo safety on their opening drive of the quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Spartans overcame a delay of game penalty to punch the ball in on third down via Milivojevic on a read option.

Toledo answered in the final minute of the third quarter, with a touchdown catch by tight end Jacob Newell.

A deep shot to Chrishon McCray pushed the Spartans into Toledo territory to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

On the first third down of the quarter, Milivojevic threw an interception to the Rockets, who returned it to the MSU 40. Three plays later, a touchdown to Toledo’s Adjatay Dabbs put the Rockets ahead 28-23.

The Spartans drove to midfield but stalled out, with Toledo doing the same. On the Toledo drive, a potential pick-six was dropped by Chuck Brantley. The Spartans got the ball back on their five with seven minutes to play.

The Spartans drove the length of the field for a go-ahead score with 2:07 remaining, with Cam Edwards punching the ball from a yard out after 13 plays. Inexplicably, the Spartans kicked an extra point to go up by two.

Isaac Smith, Kenny Soares, and Ben Roberts all combined for back-to-back sacks to lead to fourth down. On fourth-and-game with 13 seconds left, Isaac Smith called game with a sack with four seconds left.

Final Score:

MSU 30

Toledo 28

Notes: MSU had seven sacks, and also had 110 more yards on offense than Toledo. The Spartans held Toledo to 33 attempts for 30 yards on the ground, with garnering 143 yards of their own. Cam Edwards had 123 yards on the night.

One can only hope that the game is not as close as the simulation.