Michigan State football: What we learned at U-M, what to watch vs. Indiana

Free Press sports writer Chris Solari looks back at Michigan State footballl’s 24-17 loss to Michigan football and looking ahead to the Spartans’ visit from No. 13 Indiana coming up.

Next up for the Spartans: No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers

Matchup: Michigan State (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 13 Indiana (8-0, 5-0).

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing

TV/radio: Peacock (online-only), WJR-AM (760).

Line: Hoosiers by 7.

Know the foe

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti looks up at the scoreboard during the Indiana versus Nebraska football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.

SO CLOSE: Michigan State football laments missed chances at U-M: ‘We should have won this game’

It will be the second straight week — and third time this season — that for MSU coach Jonathan Smith faces another head coach in his first year with his program. But Curt Cignetti might be a runaway candidate for national coach of the year honors with how quickly he has turned around the Hoosiers. Indiana is off to its best start since 1967, the last time it won the Big Ten title and went to the Rose Bowl — a win over the Spartans would give IU its third nine-win season in program history. (The Hoosiers have never won 10 games in a year.) The former James Madison coach, who spent time as a Nick Saban assistant at Alabama, is 127-35 all-time as a head coach with stops at Division II Indiana (Pa.) and Elon before helping the Dukes transition from perennial Football Championship Subdivision domination to college football’s top division. JMU went 19-4 the last two years after moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision, including an 11-1 mark in 2023 that got Cignetti the job in Bloomington.

After losing quarterback Kurtis Rourke to a thumb injury on his throwing hand against Nebraska, Indiana rode its run game to 188 yards and two…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-football-learned-u-221553844.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-10-27 22:15:53

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