EAST LANSING– Michigan State Football looks to play spoiler against the undefeated No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon.
Under first-year Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana have transformed from a bottom-of-the-barrel power five team, into a College Football Playoff contender.
Cignetti has lived up to his opening press conference where his message to recruits:
“It’s pretty simple, I win – Google me,” Cignetti said.
As a head coach, Cignetti has a record of 127-35, coming to Indiana after a successful five-year stint at James Madison University.
Bloomington has come into the national spotlight due to the Hoosiers 8-0 start, with a visit from ESPN’s College Gameday in last weekend’s 31-17 victory over Washington.
The Spartans are further back in the Big Ten standings but have been far more tested than the Hoosiers. The Spartans have losses over Ohio State and Oregon while Indiana still hasn’t played an AP Top 25 team.
Despite not playing high-quality teams, Indiana has still impressed. Stopping Cignetti’s high-octane offense will be the Spartans’ main priority. But it won’t be easy, with the Hoosiers scoring over 30 points in all eight games this season.
Indiana quarterback redshirt senior Kurtis Rourke is slated to start after missing last week with a right thumb injury. Rourke has tossed 15 touchdowns this season with almost 2,000 passing yards in seven starts.
Spartans defensive coordinator Joe Rossi will be sending pressure Rourke’s way,
Similar to the Spartans, the Hoosiers have a split backfield with running backs senior Justice Ellison and redshirt senior Ty Son Lawton who share the workload, rushing for a combined 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns.
After a crushing rivalry loss, Spartans sophomore QB Aidan Chiles still needs to clean up his turnover issues which cost the Spartans a win in Ann Arbor.
Look for Spartans freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh to continue his great freshman season. In both of the Spartans’ Big Ten wins Marsh has been the leading receiver with over 100 receiving yards in both games.
With four games remaining the Spartans will need to win two in order to qualify for their first bowl game since 2021 and first under MSU head coach Jonathan Smith.
The Green and White will be donning their all-black jerseys for the first time this season on Saturday, a new uniform that debuted in 2023.
The Spartans are currently seven-point underdog at home, the same line they were able to cover and win outright against the Iowa Hawkeyes two weeks ago.
MSU will try to pull off the upset on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium. Listen to the game on Impact 89 FM, with Joe Dez and Oscar Henderson on the call at 3 p.m.
