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It's hard to believe that Rutgers is the favorite against an MSU team that has enjoyed great success in recent years. The Scarlett Knights are a vastly improved team following years of mediocrity and this is reflected more in their record Against The Spread (5-0-1). They are 4-2 Straight Up.
Remarkably, Rutgers has already made their OVER 3.5 season wins assigned at the start of the 2023 season.
Michigan State was given a wins total of 5.5 and thus far only have two entering this game.
The Spartans do lead the all-time series 10-4.
This is a must win for Rutgers as 6 for the season allows the team to become bowl eligible and the path to this number gets far more difficult with Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State and Maryland all looming and each having hit the five win mark already.
LB Mohamed Toure as proven to be a key asset at Rutgers. Having suffered a season ending injury before Game 1 of the 2022 season, Toure has helped the Scarlet Knight defense rank 10th nationally in passing defense (165.2 yards), 13th in scoring defense (14.7 points), 14th in total defense (282.7) and 40th in rushing defense (117.5). He's recorded at least five tackles in all six games, 37 overall with three for a loss.
So far this season, Rutgers is 4-0 at SHI Stadium and is seeking its first 5-2 start since 2014. The team has outscored opponents by an average of 13.1 points and has a plus-4 turnover margin, 18th-best in college football.
And now for the all important line movement and action review.
We see that the number was coming in at -4.5 for Rutgers as of Saturday morning, trending down from -5. 60% of the action went Rutgers way as of 11 am ET with that percentage was as high as 70% overnight. The spread came in as high as -6.5 earlier in the week.
The line is right on the money according to Sagarin (5.2).
It pains us to go against the school that was supposed to be some of our alma mater and to go with MSU +4.5 here.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
