Nebraska vs. Michigan State: Keys to victory, HOL score predictions

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Nebraska (2-2, 0-1) will travel to East Lansing for the first time since 2014 to take on Mel Tucker's 20th ranked Michigan State (3-0, 1-0) squad.

The Spartans are riding high after their convincing win at Miami last week and will take things home this weekend in what is expected to be a packed house.

Here are today's keys to victory for Nebraska vs. Michigan State, along with the HuskerOnline Saturday score predictions.

The Spartans currently are a 5 point favorite over the Huskers. Tonight's game is set for a 6 pm CST kickoff and can be seen on FS1.

KEY 1: Withstand MSU's early surge

Michigan State is going to come out swinging early. They are going to have a good play script on offense and I expect their defense to give NU some early issues before things settle in. NU has to be able to withstand this early charge.

KEY 2: Limit Walker's yards after contact

On the season, Kenneth Walker is averaging over 6.5 yards per carry on 57 rushing attempts. That is an incredible stat and very telling how big tackling will be in this game for the Blackshirts.

KEY 3: Stretch the field

Nebraska currently leads the country in explosive plays. This has been a big part of NU's success on offense and it needs to continue. The explosive plays open up everything else in Scott Frost's offense.

KEY 4: The kicking game

The Huskers and their opponents are a combined 4-of-15 on field goals this year. That is a very hard stat to wrap your arms around. The bottom line is Connor Culp needs to get out of his funk, as NU can't afford to leave any points off the board today in East Lansing.

KEY 5: Communication and poise

Nebraska played their first game in front of a hostile road environment for the first time since 2019 last week at Oklahoma. It created some early communication issues and led to several false start penalties. That can't happen today. Period. The offensive line can't put the Huskers behind the chains in this game like last week.

Sean Callahan - HuskerOnline Publisher

This will be a different type of game than Nebraska has played all year. Michigan State will come right at them with a physical ball-control offense. Their defense will also be physical on the line of scrimmage and create problems at times. It will take a quarter for the Huskers to settle in, but I think they put it together and leave East Lansing with a victory.

Nebraska 27, Michigan State 23

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Robin Washut - HuskerOnline Senior Writer

Nebraska has slowly built some momentum back up over the past two weeks, and last week’s loss at Oklahoma was about as much of a moral victory as you could get. However, today is the new turning point game of the season for the Huskers. A win vaults NU firmly back on track for a winning season and a bowl game. A loss, however, could derail those hopes almost entirely. I think Nebraska matches up well against Michigan State, and this will finally be the game where the Huskers take a giant step forward as a program.

Nebraska 31, Michigan State 29

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Jim Rose - 1110 KFAB Radio Sports Director

Nebraska and Michigan State play maybe the best match-up of the day in CFB. Sparty’s rise is remarkable. Mel Tucker has been in East Lansing for all of one spring practice and 10 total games brought in a busload of transfers and voila! Culture change. Peyton Thorne has been Peyton Manning through 3 games and he has not one but TWO NFL-caliber WR’s and the nation’s leading rusher in Kenneth Walker. The Huskers came together last week at OU nearly pulling off an upset which should foretell of glad tidings to come. But until this program can go 60 minutes without gaffes on offense and on special teams, it's hard to see them getting a win this week. Remember a spare mouth guard for this one.

Michigan State 20, Nebraska 17

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Mike'l Severe - 1620 the Zone

I like the matchup for the Huskers vs the MSU defense. They line up with those two deep safeties and allow short quick throws. Martinez and company have to be patient and use methodical drives to get up early. NU should also be able to get pressure on Payton Thorne and force him into more turnover-worthy throws.

Nebraska 27, Michigan State 23

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Andy Kendeigh - KETV Channel 7 Sports Director

Scott Frost is 0-8 against Top 25 teams as Nebraska's Head Coach. However, last week at Oklahoma the Huskers showed they can hang even when they don't play perfectly. The key this week (like most weeks) will be controlling the line of scrimmage and turnovers. Nebraska is 8-2 under Frost at Nebraska when winning the turnover margin, 6-20 when they do not. Frost gets his first victory against a ranked opponent as the Huskers win the "fistfight" on the road.

Nebraska 27, Michigan State 24