by Shawn Sillinger
Quinn must be better
Will the Michigan State Spartans bring their flag this Saturday when they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? More importantly, where will they end up sticking it?
Irish supporters haven?t forgotten last year?s debacle in South Bend, when the Spartans won 44-41 in overtime (cashing in as 4.5-point underdogs) and proceeded to plant their school flag in the middle of the Notre Dame Stadium turf. But they?ll be even angrier if the Irish don?t answer that insult with a victory in East Lansing. Notre Dame is off to a 2-1 start (1-2 against the spread) and could easily slip out of title contention with a loss Saturday night.
Michigan State has won seven of the last nine meetings straight up and ATS between these two clubs. However, with the Irish enjoying a revival under the watchful eye of coach Charlie Weis, the Spartans find themselves pegged as 4-point home underdogs with a total of 59.5. Notre Dame supporters hope the Irish have plenty of motivation to break MSU?s grip on this rivalry; in addition to the flag flap, Notre Dame is coming off last week?s embarrassing 47-21 loss at home to the Michigan Wolverines.
That loss exposed holes in Notre Dame?s secondary, a problem exacerbated by the amount of time the unit has had to spend on the field. The Irish offense is stuck in neutral. The relative weakness of the offensive line has made the running game stagnant ? just 2.7 yards per carry after three weeks. The Wolverines were therefore able to pressure quarterback Brady Quinn into three interceptions to go along with his three touchdown passes.
Michigan State is a very good team, but it?s no Michigan. The Spartans have their own problems defending the pass ? especially on longer routes. Quinn could have a field day this weekend; then again, so could his opposite number, QB Drew Stanton. He?ll be looking to step out of Quinn?s shadow Saturday and establish himself as the top quarterback of the 2007 NFL draft, something that seemed highly unlikely before Notre Dame?s loss to the Wolverines.
The combination of two outstanding passing offenses and two questionable secondaries makes Saturday?s matchup a tasty target for OVER bettors. The OVER has stormed the pay window in each of the past two weeks for both clubs, and also got paid the last two times the Irish and Spartans did battle. The scoreboard should get a workout starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ABC (check local listings).
Article courtesy of BetUS.com.
Quinn must be better
Will the Michigan State Spartans bring their flag this Saturday when they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish? More importantly, where will they end up sticking it?
Irish supporters haven?t forgotten last year?s debacle in South Bend, when the Spartans won 44-41 in overtime (cashing in as 4.5-point underdogs) and proceeded to plant their school flag in the middle of the Notre Dame Stadium turf. But they?ll be even angrier if the Irish don?t answer that insult with a victory in East Lansing. Notre Dame is off to a 2-1 start (1-2 against the spread) and could easily slip out of title contention with a loss Saturday night.
Michigan State has won seven of the last nine meetings straight up and ATS between these two clubs. However, with the Irish enjoying a revival under the watchful eye of coach Charlie Weis, the Spartans find themselves pegged as 4-point home underdogs with a total of 59.5. Notre Dame supporters hope the Irish have plenty of motivation to break MSU?s grip on this rivalry; in addition to the flag flap, Notre Dame is coming off last week?s embarrassing 47-21 loss at home to the Michigan Wolverines.
That loss exposed holes in Notre Dame?s secondary, a problem exacerbated by the amount of time the unit has had to spend on the field. The Irish offense is stuck in neutral. The relative weakness of the offensive line has made the running game stagnant ? just 2.7 yards per carry after three weeks. The Wolverines were therefore able to pressure quarterback Brady Quinn into three interceptions to go along with his three touchdown passes.
Michigan State is a very good team, but it?s no Michigan. The Spartans have their own problems defending the pass ? especially on longer routes. Quinn could have a field day this weekend; then again, so could his opposite number, QB Drew Stanton. He?ll be looking to step out of Quinn?s shadow Saturday and establish himself as the top quarterback of the 2007 NFL draft, something that seemed highly unlikely before Notre Dame?s loss to the Wolverines.
The combination of two outstanding passing offenses and two questionable secondaries makes Saturday?s matchup a tasty target for OVER bettors. The OVER has stormed the pay window in each of the past two weeks for both clubs, and also got paid the last two times the Irish and Spartans did battle. The scoreboard should get a workout starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ABC (check local listings).
Article courtesy of BetUS.com.
