Michigan State football: 3 fearless predictions vs. Richmond

Week 2 is officially upon us and that means it’s time for more bold predictions as Michigan State football plays host to FCS foe Richmond.

Michigan State football is back in action on Saturday afternoon against a Richmond team that’s looking to bounce back. The Spartans are coming off a 31-7 win over Central Michigan while Richmond suffered a tough loss at the hands of Morgan State.

This should be a nice confidence-booster before the Washington game — keyword being should.

Let’s dive into some fearless predictions.

1. Antonio Gates Jr. has a breakout game

I’m going to be the first to officially declare that I’m on the Antonio Gates Jr. bandwagon. There’s still a little bit of time to join before he blows up and becomes a star in East Lansing. While that may not be this year (my best bet would be 2024), he’s still going to show flashes of stardom.

One of those flashes will come on Saturday afternoon.

Gates will catch his first career pass as a Spartan early on for 15 yards and then continue to gain confidence throughout the game. He’s going to finish with four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, really breaking out for the first time in his collegiate career. This is (hopefully) a sign of things to come.

2. Michigan State has two 100-yard rushers

Morgan State didn’t exactly have a ton of success on the ground against Richmond in a Week 1 win, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry, but this is Michigan State football. The Spartans are expected to dominate the trenches. And the Spartans will.

Admittedly, the offensive line was disappointing in the opener against Central as the Spartans rushed for just about 130 yards and only broke a couple of big runs, but this game will be different. The line will assert its dominance right away. The first run will be another 30-yard Nathan Carter scamper and he’ll finish the day with 120 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown, too. Jalen Berger will also rush for 100 yards on 13 carries with a score.

Two 100-yard rushers? That’s a great way to instill confidence in the run game before facing Washington.

3. Michigan State gets the shutout

The last time Michigan State pulled off a shutout was almost exactly a year ago in Week 2 against Akron. The Spartans dominated from start to finish, beating the Zips 52-0. I expect a similar result in this one.

While Richmond was supposed to be a decent FCS team this year, seeing the Spiders put up just 10 points against Morgan State in a loss was a bad look. That shows that Michigan State needs to dominate this game from start to finish. It really shouldn’t be close after a quarter.

I’m going with a 45-0 Michigan State win to send us into the Washington game.