Week 9 viewing guide: Breaking down/predicting Michigan vs. MSU, plus other key games from around the country
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The streak is dead. After correctly picking 21 consecutive Michigan games, my pick of Michigan over Illinois last week was a big, fat L.
Do I regroup and start a new streak this week? Or does a new streak of the losing variety begin? And should Michigan fans even be cheering for my pick to be correct? In other words: Do I even think Michigan is going to win this Saturday?
A rivalry matchup that seemed like a foregone conclusion this offseason is anything but as we enter game week. We’ve seen the betting line shrink for 20+ in the offseason to ~10 this time last week to 6.5 to start the week all the way down to around a field goal as little as 24 hours ago. Even with it settling back around 4.5 points at the time of this writing, that’s still a far cry from a 49-0 margin we watched this game be decided by one short year ago in East Lansing.
I’ll get to my breakdown and prediction for that game — along with my reasoning for why I’m not spending much time talking trash this week — below the paywall jump. This week’s viewing guide will, as always, also include the following:
My breakdown and prediction (both straight and against the spread) of Michigan’s game
My choices for the three biggest Big Ten games of the week that don’t involve Michigan, including predictions straight and against the spread
My choices for the three biggest non-Big Ten games of the weekend, including predictions straight and against the spread
Rapid-fire predictions for all other Big Ten games, both straight and against the spread.
Here’s a look at how my picks have fared so far this fall:
2024 results
Michigan games
Straight: 6-1
Against the spread: 4-3
B1G games
Straight: 68-20
Against the spread: 45-42-1
Overall
Straight: 88-21
Against the spread: 61-46-2
I’ll also be throwing in some highlights from Thursday’s premium subscriber Q&A at the end of this newsletter.
So let’s get to it. My viewing guide can be viewed in full below the paywall jump 👇.
