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Coming off a devastating home loss to divisional foe Ohio State, the Michigan State Spartans are looking to rebound although they may be completely out of the playoff hunt. The Maryland Terrapins, on the other hand, will be looking to completely ruin the Spartans’ season with a home win and their first signature win as members of the Big Ten.
Michigan State has one of the better offenses in the country and easily the school’s best since Mark Dantonio took over in 2007. The Spartans have the sixth-best scoring offense in the land, led by junior quarterback Connor Cook. The second-year starter is struggling a bit with accuracy this season, but has put up solid numbers, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,226 yards, 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Tony Lippett has easily been his favorite target, catching 47 passes for 953 yards and nine scores despite playing on a gimpy ankle recently. Tight end Josiah Price is the next closest target, catching 21 passes for 330 yards and five touchdowns. Jeremy Langford leads the 19th-best rushing attack in the nation with 978 yards and 13 touchdowns. Watch out for sophomore Delton Williams, however, as the bruising back is averaging seven yards per carry this year.
While the Terrapins don’t exactly have the most impressive offensive ever, it will be even less potent this week because of the loss of top wide out Stefon Diggs due to a one-game suspension for a pre-game mixup in week 10. Senior dual-threat quarterback C.J. Brown will have to do without his top target and rely more on his legs. On the year, Brown has passed for 1,477 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for a team-leading 380 yards and five scores. Diggs brought a lot of electricity to the table as he led the team with 654 yards and five touchdown catches on 52 receptions. Senior receiver Deon Long will be filling Diggs’ void, ranking second on the team with 35 catches for 389 yards and a score. The run game ranks just 106th and will likely be no problem for the stellar Spartans’ run defense.
Defensively, Maryland hasn’t been nearly as impressive as the Spartans have. The Terrapins rank 79th in points allowed per game while also ranking 94th in total yards allowed, giving up about 432 per contest. Michigan State has been solid, besides a hiccup last week, on defense this year, ranking 10th in total yards allowed, but just 42nd in points allowed, on average, each week.
The Spartans will travel to Maryland to take on the Terrapins at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Nov. 15. The game will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network.
PREDICTION: Michigan State 42, Maryland 21
Want to see the Spartans take on the Terrapins in week 12? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
