It's been nearly 100 years since Western Michigan last beat Michigan State, and the Broncos will look to snap to streak tonight against the fifth ranked Spartans.
Michigan State (11-2 last season) comes into 2015 with momentum stringing from their thrilling Cotton Bowl victory over Baylor last season, and return 17 starters.
MSU's offense was among the best in college football last season, averaging 501 yards per game (11th) and 43 points (7th), and it won't be any different in 2015. Senior quarterback and Heisman hopeful Connor Cook has a strong receiving core in Aaron Burbridge, MacGarret Kings Jr., RJ Shelton, and Josiah Price to connect with. Although Western Michigan has a decent secondary that ranked 47th in pass defense last season, it's not fit to compete with the likes of Michigan State and Connor Cook should have little trouble carving out the Broncos defense.
After the departure of Jeremy Langford, the Spartans are left with a three-man running back rotation that includes 4-star freshmen Madre London and LJ Scott and sophomore Gerald Holmes. The offensive line is one of the best in college football and will provide Cook plenty of time in the pocket and the running game plenty of room to operate against a poor Broncos D-Line.
The Spartans should have little trouble offensively against the Broncos and could hang upwards of 40 points.
Western Michigan (8-5 last season) brings back a strong offense that averaged 33 points and 438 yards per game in 2014. Quarterback Zach Terrell threw for 3,443 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing an impressive 68% of his passes. He'll have to test out the young Spartans secondary early and establish the passing game before the Spartans vicious defensive line can get to him to gives the Broncos a chance to compete.
Running back Javarion Franklin brought home the MAC Offensive Player of Year honors, running for over 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns, while receivers Corey Davis and Daniel Braverman combined for 2,405 yards. Both Franklin and Davis are considered NFL talent and will be some of the best players MSU sees all season.
The offensive line, however, is something to be concerned about. Michigan State's defensive line should be able to get to Terrell often and prevent Franklin from doing damage in the running game.
Michigan State's defense, if the secondary can prevent huge plays, should play very well and limit the Broncos to under 350 total yards.
Western Michigan is simply outmatched by one of the better teams in the nation on both sides of the ball, and Michigan State should win this game by a comfortable margin.
Final score prediction: 45-17 MSU.
VAVEL USA will have a live event and recap of the game.