Michigan State and Prairie View A&M will battle in East Lansing on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the Big Ten Network.

Prairie View A&M and Michigan State are both coming off wins in Week Two, as the Panthers defeated Northwestern State by a final score of 37-31, and the Spartans defeated Maryland by a final score of 27-24 in an electric Big Ten opening victory.

Let's get to know Prairie View A&M better.

Prairie View A&M is a historically Black university (HBCU) located in Prairie View, Texas. It competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Fittingly, Michigan State Athletics will induct the 1965 and 1966 Spartan football teams into its Hall of Fame this weekend. Those teams, coached by Duffy Daugherty, helped integrate college football by rostering and playing African-American players from the segregated South. The Spartans won back-to-back national championships in 1965 and 1966.

The Panthers are led by head coach Bubba McDowell, who has been at the helm since 2022. As head coach, McDowell has amassed an overall record of 13-12.

Prior to taking over as head coach of the program, McDowell was an assistant coach for Prairie View A&M from 2012 through 2021.

In 2023, Prairie View A&M won the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) West Division before falling to Florida A&M in the conference title game by a final score of 35-14.

So far in 2024, Prairie View A&M has a 1-1 record with a loss to Texas Southern and the aforementioned win over Northwestern State.

Last time out, Prairie View A&M was led by quarterback Cameron Peters, as he threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Demons.

On the season as a whole, Peters has completed 28 out of his 53 pass attempts (52.8%) and recorded 391 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's added 13 rushing yards.

Running back Connor Wisham also had a solid day for Prairie View against Northwestern State, as he had 22 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. Wisham has rushed for 98 yards through two games, and added a 26-yard reception.

Meanwhile, Shemar Savage took control of the wide receiver room for Prairie View, as he hauled in six passes for 133 yards and a touchdown last week. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound wideout has recorded exactly six receptions in each of the Panthers' two games thus far, for 12 total on the campaign, and has recorded over 100 receiving yards in each contest as well (238 total receiving yards through two games).

Peters and Savage connected on a deep ball for 47 yards during last Saturday’s game as well. The quarterback-wide receiver duo will have Michigan State’s full attention Saturday afternoon.

As for the defense, Prairie View has given up an average of 29 points per game, and 135.5 rushing yards per game. After Michigan State’s run game struggled somewhat last week against the Terrapins, look for the Spartans to get back on track and continue the trend against Prairie View’s seemingly weak rush defense.

The strength of the Prairie View defense is its secondary. The Panthers have given up just 178.5 yards passing yards per game thus far, and just 5.95 yards per attempt, which is solid for any defense. Prairie View has also recorded an interception this season.

Michigan State enters the game as a heavy favorite. If Prairie View A&M is going to keep it somewhat respectable in East Lansing on Saturday, the defense will need to force turnovers to give quarterback Cameron Peters and the Panther offense advantageous opportunities against a stout Michigan State defense.

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