Rutgers football opens as double digit underdogs against Michigan State

The 2020 season opener for Rutgers football is less than 10 days away and it wasn’t a question of whether if they would be underdogs on the road against Michigan State, but by how much? On Thursday, Bet Online released opening lines for the Big Ten’s first week and the Spartans open as 11.5 point favorites over the Scarlet Knights.

Both teams feature new head coaches, Mel Tucker for Michigan State and Greg Schiano for Rutgers. With an extremely shortened offseason, new coaching staff’s and reworked rosters, it’s hard to know what to expect when these teams face each other on Saturday, October 24 at noon on BTN. However, it’s fair to expect that Rutgers will be listed as underdogs in every game this season until they end its Big Ten losing streak, currently at 21 consecutive defeats.

The last time Rutgers visited East Lansing in 2018, they held a 4th quarter lead before falling 14-10 in the season finale.

To read more on Week 1 opponent Michigan State, our preview of the Spartans is here. You can find all of our preseason coverage of Rutgers football here and to listen to our latest podcast episode previewing the season ahead, click here.