Central Michigan Chippewas vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/01/2023

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Friday, September 1, 2023

Venue:  Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, MI

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  CMU +15, MSU -15; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  CMU +15, MSU -15; Over/Under:  49.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  CMU +15, MSU -15; Over/Under:  49.5 points

Central Michigan Chippewas:  0-0 (MAC West)

Michigan State Spartans:  0-0 (Big Ten East)

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Central Michigan Chippewas:  N/A

Michigan State Spartans:  N/A

Central Michigan finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 3-5 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-4 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 24.8 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 28.2 points per game. Their offense also averaged 368.5 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 374.3 yards per game. Daniel Richardson led the team in passing yards with 1988, Lew Nichols led the team in rushing yards with 616, and Carlos Carriere led the team in receiving yards with 520.

 

 

 

Michigan State finished last season with a 5-7 record overall and they had a 3-6 record in their conference games too.  They were 4-3 in their home games, 1-4 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 24.4 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 27.4 points per game. Their offense also averaged 353 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 416.5 yards per game. Payton Thorne led the team in passing yards with 2679, Jalen Berger led the team in rushing yards with 683, and Keon Coleman led the team in receiving yards with 798.

The current betting odds have Central Michigan listed as a 15 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Central Michigan didn't have a great season last year as they were 4-8 overall but they have improved this season in the portal and will be looking to have a much better year. Michigan State is a much bigger school and they play in a much stronger conference but they weren't great themselves last season with their losing 5-7 record overall. Michigan State didn't do much to improve with the portal either, they should be a better team but they could also easily overlook this 1st game of the season against an opponent who is going to bring their best effort in this game. Central Michigan will get up for this game knowing they are playing against another Michigan school and Michigan State may not take this game as seriously as Central Michigan does which will get Michigan State into trouble here since they aren't that good of a team. Michigan State is still the better team and should win this game but their motivation will not be as strong as Central Michigan and CMU will definitely be able to keep this a closer game. The best way to place a bet here is on Central Michigan to cover the spread in this game. 

Central Michigan Michigan State Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, September 1, 2023 (7:00 pm ET start time) is MSU 28 CMU 17.

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Central Michigan Chippewas: 6-3 OVER when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 16-6 OVER in a road game where the total is between 49.5 and 52. 24-15 OVER in games played on a grass field.

Michigan State Spartans: 9-3 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 8-4 ATS as a favorite. 9-4 OVER in home games. 11-6 OVER in games played on a grass field.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  None.

Michigan State Spartans:  None.

“We need to do better than we did a year ago, and we’re going to do that. I’m really excited about our team. I’m excited about the guys that went through what we went through a year ago and are ready to not let that happen again.” - Jim McElwain on his expectations coming into this new college football season.

“I don’t know how we can expect to win the Big Ten and get in the playoffs and win a national title if we don’t have the best players. I don’t know how you do that...NIL is a big issue right now. You’ve got teams in the conference spending $12-13 million on NIL. We’re not even close to that.” - Mel Tucker on his team coming into this new season.

WR Parker, Chris 

WR McGaughy, Jalen 

WR Jackson, Irone 

TE Young, Marcus 

QB Bauer, Jase 

RB Bailey, Myles 

WR Foster Jr., Montorie 

WR Fitzpatrick, Christian 

WR Mosley, Tre 

TE Carr, Maliq 

QB Kim, Noah 

RB Berger, Jalen 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Central Michigan Chippewas: Jim McElwain (5th season)

Michigan State Spartans: Mel Tucker (4th season)