24 Jan 11 2010 College Football Predictions: Expect Notre Dame to Upset Michigan State

Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesThe Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Michigan State Spartans will take part in their annual showdown this Saturday from Spartan Stadium.The Spartans improved to 2-0 on the season with a nice 30-17 at home over Florida Atlantic, while the Fighting Irish fell to 1-1 after suffering a toughWashington Redskins jersey
loss to Michigan at home 28-24.The oddsmakers are calling for a Spartan victory this weekend, as the current college football lines have the Spartans coming into the game as 3.5 point favorites over the Fighting Irish. The Fighting Irish had no answer for Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson in their first loss of the season, as Robinson combined for 502 of Michigan532 total yards of offense. Notre Dame actually out-gained the Wolverines by three yards, but had three costly interceptions. Quarterback Dayne Crist didnget to play most of the first half after slamming his head on the ground, but really came on strong in the second half of the game, and finished throwing for 277 yards and two touchdowns. Would have been interesting to see what the outcome would have been if Crist had been able to play the whole game. The Irish also got a strong performance from starting running back Armando Allen, who ran for 89 yards on 15 carries, and tight end Kyle Rudolph, who caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. This will be the first real test of the season for Michigan State, as they havenreally played anyone in the first two games of the season. Last week, against Florida Atlantic, Edwin Baker went off for 183 yards and a touchdown, and LeVeon Bell added 49 yards and a score, as the Reebok Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald Realtree camo Jersey
Spartans finished the game with 225 yards on the ground.Quarterback Kirk Cousins attempted just 17 passes in the win, completing nine of them for 142 yards, including a 30-yard strike to B.J. Cunningham for a touchdown. Cousins will likely have to play a much bigger role this weekend if the Spartans are going to take down the Fighting Irish. Looking at the OddsI actually like the Fighting Irish to win this game, so I think there is no question that you have to take the 3.5-points the oddsmakers are giving Notre Dame Saturday.Had Crist played the whole game and the Irish beat Michigan last week, I think we would have actually seen Notre Dame favored in this game. I look for a high-scoring game to occur between these two teams, and I just think that the Notre Dame offense is more potent than Reebok Baltimore Ravens #5 Joe Flacco Realtree camo Jersey
what the Spartans have to offer.The Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last five games after allowing more than 200 yards rushing in their previous game.My final score prediction is Notre Dame, 33, Michigan State, 27.Looking to make some money on the college football games this season? Check out what our expert college football handicappers have to offer in their weekly college football picks.