Western Michigan Broncos vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 9/2/2022 College Football Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Western Michigan Broncos vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Friday, September 2, 2022

Location: Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Spartans (-20)

Total/Over-Under: 56.5

The Western Michigan Broncos (8-5 last season) are on their way to Spartan Stadium on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Michigan State Spartans (11-2 last year). Michigan State opens this matchup as 20-point favorites. The total has been set at 56.5.

The Western Michigan Broncos wrapped up their year having earned a 8-5 mark. The last time they stepped onto the field, the Broncos faced off with the Nevada Wolf Pack and earned the victory with a final of 52-24. Kaleb Eleby went 8/14 with 162 yds through the air and 2 touchdowns. He had a QB rating of 187.2 and walked away from the contest with 1 interception. Sean Tyler was the leader on the ground for the Broncos with 14 carries for 146 yards (10.4 yards per attempt). The Western Michigan Broncos ran the football 52 times and amassed 352 yards, earning them an average of 6.8 yards per attempt. At the end of the game, they had 66 plays which gave them 514 yds. Western Michigan allowed 12 completions on 23 attempts for 121 yards, and a completion percentage of 52.2%. Against the run, the Broncos conceded 121 yds on 31 attempts, which is an average of 3.9 yards per run allowed.

The Broncos earned 6,074 total yards for the prior season. Western Michigan earned 23 touchdowns via the pass and 31 touchdowns via the ground. They turned the football over 16 different times. Western Michigan tallied 322 1st downs as a team, and they were called for 88 penalties for 766 yds. As a team they maintained an average of 213.5 yards on the ground, which had them sitting 18th in the country. Regarding scoring points, the Western Michigan Broncos had an average of 32.5 PPG.

In terms of yards through the air, the Broncos allowed 2,423 yards which ranked them 14th in the country. In their 13 games played, they allowed 186.4 yards per game through the air and relinquishing a completion percentage of 55.1%. They gave up 330.8 yards/contest which had them sitting 20th in Division 1. They conceded 23 passing touchdowns in addition to 17 touchdowns via the ground game. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.5 yards per rush and 144.5 yards on the ground per game last season. For the year, they allowed 1,879 yards via the running game in 13 games. The Broncos sat in 81st in Division 1 regarding team defense, conceding 28.2 points per contest.

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The Spartans ended the year having a 11-2 record. When they last played, the Spartans took home the win by a final score of 31-21 against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Jordon Simmons ran the football 16 times for 23 yards, finishing the contest with 1.4 yds per carry for Michigan State. Payton Thorne (3 TDs) finished the game with 354 yds on 29/50 passing while his quarterback rate was 133.3. He tossed 1 pick and his average yards per attempt was 7.1. Michigan State conceded 32 rush attempts for 104 yds (3.3 yds per rush). The Spartans passing defense gave up a completion rate of 69.6%, relinquishing 170 yds on 16 for 23 through the air. The Spartans finished the game with a total of 410 yards on 86 plays (4.8 yards per play). Michigan State ran for 1.6 yds per attempt, finishing with a total of 56 yards on 36 attempts.

When it comes to their scoring prowess, the Spartans had a ranking of 40th in Division 1 averaging 31.8 points per outing. Last season, the Spartans compiled 3,298 passing yards along with an average of 253.7 passing yards per game, which had them ranked 47th in the country. The Michigan State Spartans maintained an average of 430.2 yards per outing, ranking them 44th in the nation. The Michigan State offense racked up 831 yards of penalties on 90 violations, which was good for 25th in the nation in terms of helping out the other team.

The Spartans allowed 25.3 points per contest, which had them ranked 54th in the nation. Michigan State allowed a total of 1,517 yards via the ground game (116.7 yards per outing) and 10 touchdowns via the rush last year. Over the course of the season, they conceded 329 points in total. They surrendered 27 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 325.1 yards per outing, which had them sitting 130th in D-1. The Spartans defense participated in 1,023 plays, which was good for 128th in college football.

Who will win tonight's Broncos/Spartans college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Broncos +20

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