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Published Nov 1, 2023
Dr. Green and White Bad Betting Advice, Week 10: Jokes About Corn
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Paul Fanson  •  Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer
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@PaulFanson

This Saturday, the Michigan State Spartans will host the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The University of Nebraska's mascot is literally a dude whose job is to manually process corn. The Huskers have a physical mascot that roams the sidelines. His name is Herbie Husker and he looks like this:

There is not a lot to talk about when it comes to Michigan State football, but I feel that I should at least have the energy and motivation to make fun of the mascot for this week's opponent.

I should be able to deploy several paragraphs of corny jokes. The opponent alone provides some serious low hanging ears. I should be able to produce some "a-maize-ing" content in this intro that really pops.

But after watching the Spartans get creamed on the field for six-straight weeks, I am not sure that I have it in me anymore. Much like the season as whole, I feel like a husk of my former self. You would think that I could at least produce one "Field of Dreams" reference (Wait. That's Iowa. Shucks.) But I got nothing.

Unfortunately, it seems that my current feeling of "ma(la)ize" is shared by the Spartan football team. The effort last weekend in Minneapolis against Minnesota was as flat and uninspiring as a corn tortilla. This weekend, Michigan State will celebrate this year's seniors. Perhaps that will spark some kernel of emotion that can carry the team to victory. Sure. That's possible

Either way, it is important to show up, cheer, and support the kids who have been giving it their all out on the field, despite going through an emotional roller coaster off of the field. This season has not progressed in the way that anyone wanted or expected, but that does not fall on the players. It falls on the leaders and the adults who let them down.

Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller and his staff are currently out in the field stalking new talent to lead the program going forward. I am confident that the search will yield a high-quality coach and staff that will make Spartan fans proud. The sun will once again rise on Spartan Football.

Michigan State Prediction

Michigan State has faced Nebraska 12 times in history, stretching back to 1914. The Cornhuskers won the first seven games in the series until the Spartans claimed their first victory in 2013. Since then, the teams have split the last four contests.

Similar to the story with Minnesota last week, Michigan State has struggled mightily relative to the spread versus Nebraska. The Spartans are just 1-7 against the spread this century, with the only cover happening in the Rose Bowl season of 2013.

Nebraska will be coming into Spartan Stadium this weekend as a 3.5-point favorite. If the Spartans are to score an upset victory, they will need to shuck off more than one historical trend. Based on the spread, Michigan State has a 40% chance to send the senior home as winners.

The Cornhuskers started the season 0-2 with losses to Minnesota and Colorado, but they are 5-1 since. Nebraska is now just one win away from bowl eligibility. More critically, Nebraska finds itself in a first-place tie in the Big Ten West.

In other words, the Huskers have a lot left to play for this season. Meanwhile the Spartans are left only playing for pride, for the seniors and for the chance to play spoiler (although, interim head coach Harlon Barnett does not like that term). Will this be enough to break the six-game losing streak?

My computer does not think so, and I would tend to agree. While I still believe that there are some talented pieces on the Spartan roster, I will remain in a "I will believe it when I see it" mode of hopeful skepticism. My computer projects a final score of Nebraska 24, Michigan State 18.

Big Ten Overview

Let's now move to a review of the upcoming action in the Big Ten in Week 10 where all 14 teams are in action this week.

Table 1 below includes my projected scores, the opening point spread and the computers' projected point differentials for all seven games.

Note that all rankings referenced below for each team are my computer's power rankings and not the newly revealed College Football Playoff rankings.

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MichiganState
FOOTBALL
Scores / Schedule
footballfootball
6 - 2
Overall Record
0 - 0
Conference Record
Finished
N. Carolina
91
N. Carolina
Michigan St.
94
Arrow
Michigan St.
Michigan St.
63
Michigan St.
Memphis
71
Arrow
Memphis
Michigan St.
72
Arrow
Michigan St.
Colorado
56
Colorado
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