3 bold predictions for Michigan State football vs. Oregon

Michigan State football will be in Eugene on Friday night for a huge showdown with Oregon. Let’s dive into some bold predictions.

Guys, last week was not a good one for me. I’ve been red-hot with my Michigan State football weekly bold predictions, but I was way off in my three for the Ohio State game and I truly just need a good bounce-back.

Let’s start by saying this matchup against Oregon is not ideal. The Spartans have a turnover problem and Oregon’s defense scares me a bit, especially in that back-end. Moreover, the offense put up just seven points on Ohio State so what makes us think that it’ll hang with Oregon’s trio of Dillon Gabriel, Tez Johnson, and Jordan James?

This one’s going to be tough.

So without further ado, let’s try to get back on track (with predictions and on-field play) on Friday night.

1. Nate Carter and Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams rush for over 150 yards

This isn’t the craziest prediction but it might seem like that to the average fan. How the heck can a run game that has generated next to no results against defenses with a pulse rush for over 150 yards? Well, Oregon has struggled a bit against the run this year, ranking 55th in the country (yes, a lot of the yards surrendered came from Heisman favorite Ashton Jeanty). I think this front-seven is solid, but it can be gashed every now and then and we will see Jonathan Smith run to open up the pass.

And it will work early on.

We’ll see Nate Carter break off a 30-yard run and Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams will have some solid, hard-nosed rushes. The Spartans will finish with over 150 yards on the ground and really make a statement. I think we’ll also see Chiles run more.

2. Nick Marsh has bounce-back game

Nick Marsh has been relatively silent since his massive eight-catch, 194-yard game against Maryland in Week 2. But that will all change on Friday night in Eugene. He has just four total catches for 57 yards since Week 2 but he’s going to nearly double that on Friday with seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown even though he’ll draw some tough matchups against Oregon’s secondary. He may see a lot of Jabbar Muhammad, but that could also be Montorie Foster Jr.’s problem. When Muhammad switches off, I think Marsh will go off.

This is the connection that Chiles and Michigan State football need.

3. Third-quarter turnover leads to unraveling

I see Michigan State keeping things close for a half and then entering the second half with some momentum and a 17-10 deficit, but a turnover early in the third quarter will lead to an unraveling much like the Ohio State game.

The Spartans will have a chance to make things scarily close with the Ducks but the turnover bug will bite again and it’ll lead to three straight Oregon scores to make it 38-10 before Michigan State scores in garbage time to make it 38-17.

It’ll feel closer than the score indicates, but there are no moral victories here.