Michigan State vs. Nebraska: A Must-Win for the Cornhuskers

Nebraska has found themselves in a couple of big games this year, but no game on their schedule is more important than the game on Saturday against Michigan State.

The game against Wisconsin was big because it was Nebraska’s first game in the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers wanted to make a statement to their new rivals. The game was built up as the “Pack the Black” campaign for Cornhusker fans. It did not go exactly as planned, as Wisconsin rolled over the Cornhuskers 48-17.

The next week Nebraska was in another big game. The Cornhuskers had to bounce back against Ohio State, or else they would have dug themselves a hole in the Big Ten standings. Nebraska started off slowly, trailing the Buckeyes 20-6 at halftime. Nebraska made the biggest comeback in school history to beat the Buckeyes 34-27.

The games against Wisconsin and Ohio State were big games, but they were not games that Nebraska had to win. This week’s game against Michigan State is a must-win game for the Cornhuskers.

If Nebraska loses to Michigan State on Saturday, the Spartans will have a two-game lead over the Cornhuskers, plus a tie-breaker. This essentially sets Michigan State up with a three-game lead over Nebraska with four games to play.

Nebraska’s goal entering the season was to make it to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. With a loss to Michigan State, Nebraska would have to win the remaining games on their schedule and hope that Michigan State loses three out of their last four games. That is not going to happen.

Michigan State plays Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Northwestern in their final four games. Three of these teams (Minnesota, Indiana and Northwestern) have yet to win a game in the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State is more likely to win the remaining four games on their schedule than they are to lose any of them.

With a loss on Saturday, Nebraska’s preseason goals will be unattainable. Instead of trying to make it to the Big Ten Championship Game and a possible appearance in the Rose Bowl, Nebraska would be playing for a trip to the Outback Bowl or a return to the Gator Bowl. While the Outback Bowl and Gator Bowl are respectable bowl games to play in, they do not meet the expectations of the Nebraska football program or its fans.

With so much on the line for the Cornhuskers on Saturday, do they have a chance against the Spartans?

Here is what I think…….

Why Nebraska will win

The most important reason why Nebraska will win this game is because of their schedule compared to Michigan State’s schedule.

Nebraska had a bye week followed by an easy game against Minnesota. College football teams can only practice 20 hours per week. Nebraska should have had much more time to prepare for Michigan State than the Spartans had to prepare for Nebraska.

If the Nebraska coaching staff is smart, they would have devoted some of the hours from their bye week and the week they played Minnesota to preparing for Michigan State. Bo Pelini always says he focuses on the next game on their schedule and does not look ahead, but it is hard to imagine the Cornhuskers spending two weeks to prepare for Minnesota. I think Nebraska spent more time practicing for Michigan State in those two weeks than they did practicing for Minnesota. That would give Nebraska three weeks of practice to prepare for the Spartans.

Michigan State’s schedule did not set them up for this game as well as the Cornhuskers' schedule. Michigan State had tough games against Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. While Nebraska was preparing for the Spartans, Michigan State was utilizing their practice time to prepare for their games against Michigan and Wisconsin. I am sure Michigan State did not overlook the Badgers to prepare for the Cornhuskers.

If Nebraska loses this game on Saturday, there is no one else to blame but the Nebraska coaching staff. With three weeks to prepare compared to a short week for the Spartans, Nebraska should be ready for anything Michigan State throws at them. Nebraska may not be the more talented team, but they should be the more prepared team on Saturday.

Why Nebraska will lose

The reason why Nebraska will lose is easy: The Cornhuskers are not as talented as Michigan State.

Michigan State’s offense should be able to move the ball on a struggling Nebraska defense. Nebraska has had problems generating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If Michigan State’s quarterback, Kirk Cousins, has all day to throw the ball, he will pick the Nebraska secondary apart.

The Nebraska offense has played well as of late, but scoring on Minnesota and scoring on Michigan State are not the same. Michigan State has the No. 2-ranked defense in the country. If the Cornhuskers play like they played against Wisconsin or in the first half of the Ohio State game, they will have a hard time putting up points on the Michigan State defense.

Michigan State has proven in the past month that they can win big games. Although the game against Wisconsin was close, they played much better against the Badgers than the Cornhuskers did.

Matchup

If this game was played on paper, Michigan State would win easily.

Taking into consideration the preparation time the Cornhuskers had for this game compared to what the Spartans had, this game should be a win for the Cornhuskers. This is a must-win for Nebraska, and if they fail to come out with a victory, they have no one to blame but themselves.

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