Week 13: Rutgers football heads to East Lansing

With bowl-eligibility wrapped up, the team can only surpass expectations from this point on. Through ten games, we know pretty well what we have in this year's edition of the Scarlet Knights, and few outside of New Jersey would expect Rutgers to win another game, let alone the conference preseason favorites. Michigan State may have been throttled by J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State offense, but they are still a formidable team that can overpower you on both sides of the ball. Despite winning decisively against Indiana, RU opens as big underdogs to the Spartans.

After surrendering 568 yards of total offense at home to the Buckeyes, the Galaxy Defense bounced back with a 2013-vintage performance against the Terps in front of a raucous Byrd Stadium. Maryland could only gain 252 yards of offense for the entire night, including six rushing yards. The Spartans also intercepted Maryland QB C.J. Brown three times, giving some confidence back to the 'No Fly Zone.' Can Ralph Friedgen and the Knights find success against Pat Narduzzi's defense?

Profile

Michigan State Spartans (8-2, 5-1 B1G) Last week: Won @ Maryland, 37-15

2013 Record: 13-1 (8-0 B1G)

Head Coach: Mark Dantonio (90-48 overall, 72-31 MSU)

Location: East Lansing, MI

Series: 3-2 Rutgers

Broadcast Info

Saturday, November 22 - 12:00 PM

Channel: Big Ten Network

Line: Michigan State -22

Game Links

Knowing your enemy: Michigan State Spartans - Looking back on what we expected from MSU in the preseason.

Spartans open as 22-point favorites - It's one of the biggest opening spreads we've seen against Rutgers this season, possibly the largest. The Knights opened as 19.5-point underdogs against Ohio State.

Big Ten Travel Guide: East Lansing - If you're making the trip out to the Midwest, check out our guide with answers from SB Nation's MSU blog, The Only Colors.

Three things to watch for MSU - Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press gives three things to note for Rutgers' game against the Spartans.

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Can the Scarlet Knights figure out how to stop the run? Connor Cook might get all the pub as the as the star quarterback, but RB Jeremy Langford is quietly putting together a great season in the Big Ten. He's being pushed aside for other names like Melvin Gordon, Ameer Abdullah, David Cobb, and Tevin Coleman, but he could be just as dangerous as any of those runners, especially against a Rutgers defense that is allowing an astounding 201 yards on the ground per game. They'll need to do something if they stand a chance in EL.