EAST LANSING– Michigan State is looking to bounce back after a loss to No. 5 Indiana on Nov. 2.
After the Spartans last bye week, they bounced back and defeated Iowa 32-20 on Oct. 19. They now look to do it again against a struggling Illinois team.
The Spartans are looking for redemption in Champaign, and sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles will be the focal point of the offense. Chiles has thrown for 1,850 yards on the season, with eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Along with the Spartans leading rusher, sixth-year running back Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams, who has only 469 yards on the season. MSU needs its quarterback and running backs to sustain a working offense.
MSU had a very impressive showing in the first quarter against Indiana, with sixth-year kicker Jonathan Kim getting the Spartans on the board early with three, and freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh with an 18-yard touchdown catch giving MSU the lead.
However, the Spartans lost all momentum when Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti and his team scored 47 unanswered points, resulting in a dominant win.
The MSU defense was a dominant force to start the season but has become stagnant for the second half of the season. MSU has failed to collect a sack in five consecutive games, not putting pressure on opponent offenses.
The Illinois squad has slowed down since the beginning of the season. The Fighting Illini won four straight games early on until their battle with No. 4 Penn State, but they have fallen to No. 1 Oregon and Minnesota in two consecutive games in the last two weeks.
Illinois junior quarterback Luke Altmyer started the season off strong, but turnovers have stopped his offensive play as of late. In the loss against Minnesota, Altmyer threw 20-of-33 for 226 yards and a touchdown, but the Mississippi native caused two fumbles and cost the game for Illinois.
The Illinois passing attack was efficient against Minnesota. Senior wide receiver Pat Bryant had five catches for 72 yards and senior wide receiver Zakhari Franklin caught five passes and put up a touchdown.
Where the Illinois run game is a strong suit in head coach Bret Bielema’s offense, junior running back Josh McCray only rushed for 71 yards against Minnesota and Illinois looks to attack the Spartan defense with the run.
With both teams rejuvenated coming out of their respective bye weeks, both MSU and Illinois are making a push for a bowl game with Illinois closer to the prize.
The Spartans will take on Illinois at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Tune into the live radio broadcast featuring Oscar Henderson and Joe Dez locally on 88.9 FM or at impact89fm.org/listen-live/.
