Michigan vs. Michigan State odds, spread, lines: Week 9 college football picks, predictions by computer model
A pair of old in-state Big Ten rivals square off this weekend as Michigan welcomes Michigan State in college football's Week 9 action on Saturday.
Sparty definitely needs this one more, dropping four of its last five games, sitting at 3-4 overall this season and just 1-3 in Big Ten competition.
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The grass is definitely greener in Ann Arbor this season as Michigan is undefeated through seven games and a playoff contender as one of the sport's premier rushing teams.
What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.
Michigan vs. Michigan State picks, predictions
Week 9 college football picks: Michigan vs. Michigan State
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Don't lose any sleep over this one, Wolverine fans: Michigan has the outsized 90.2 percent chance to defeat Michigan State on Saturday and stay perfect.
That leaves the Spartans an outside 9.8 percent chance to pull off the upset and hand the Wolverines their first loss of the season.
The oddsmakers favor the home team by a large margin, as Michigan comes in the 22 point favorites to defeat Michigan State, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook, which set the over/under mark at 54.5 points for the matchup.
Michigan checks in at No. 4 on the index's 131 college football rankings, projected to win 11.2 games this season and with a 48.8 percent shot to return to the College Football Playoff, second best in the Big Ten.
Sparty owns the No. 42 position in the computer's national rankings, estimated to win 5.3 games this season with a 55.3 percent shot to become bowl eligible.
College Football Power Index
Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.
Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.
College football rankings
According to AP top 25 poll
1. Georgia (31 1st-place votes)
2. Ohio State (18)
3. Tennessee (13)
4. Michigan
5. Clemson (1)
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Oregon
9. Oklahoma State
10. USC
T-10. Wake Forest
12. UCLA
13. Penn State
14. Utah
15. Ole Miss
16. Syracuse
17. Illinois
18. LSU
19. Kentucky
20. Cincinnati
21. North Carolina
22. Kansas State
23. Tulane
24. NC State
25. South Carolina