3 reasons to have confidence that Nebraska will beat Michigan State

Nebraska football faces its first test of the season on Saturday against Michigan State.

Michigan State has been one of the worst teams in the Big Ten since 2022. The Spartans haven’t played in a bowl game since 2021.

Pat Fitzgerald has taken over as the head coach. He was a good hire, but he was also 4-20 in his last two seasons at Northwestern. His only win in 2022 was over Scott Frost and Nebraska.

Michigan State was competitive against Notre Dame last week. Yet, the Spartans still lost by 17 points. Don’t read too much into a moral victory. Nebraska should win this game fairly easily, and here are three reasons why.

The MSU offense isn’t very good

The offensive line has some talent. Outside of that, and running back Cam Edwards, there isn’t much to write home about in terms of this offense.

Michigan State ranks 89th or worse in rushing offense, pass offense, total offense, and scoring offense. There isn’t a single pass catcher on this offense that Nebraska shouldn’t be able to cover. They are all just guys. Alessio Milivojevic is a decent quarterback. He’s accurate but doesn’t have many weapons and doens’t run the ball.

That might sound overconfident, but if the Blackshirts allow 20 points, Rob Aurich will have some explaining to do, or there will have been mistakes made (turnovers, special teams) along the way.

Anthony Colandrea is the real deal

The highest-rated quarterback in the Power 4 after three games, Anthony Colandrea might be the most underrated player in the Big Ten. He’s one of them. Jamal Rule is right there.

Nebraska football has a legit QB/RB tandem for the first time under Matt Rhule. The receivers, OL, and tight ends are good, too. Luke Lidenmeyer is an All-Big Ten-caliber player and has played like it.

If the Spartans keep their safeties deep, playing two high like North Dakota, Nebraska should be able to run the ball. If it can do that, it should open up big plays.

Even if big plays aren’t there, Colandrea has shown he can be patient. He can also do damage with his legs, which will be an X-factor in this game.

Matt Rhule was right

The Nebraska head coach was right this offseason when he said this was his best team in Lincoln. Saturday will provide us with the best evidence yet of that being true.

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