Michigan State is coming into this game with a 4-5 record this season and they are 2-4 in the conference. They are coming off of their bye, but they have not been playing well in their recent games. They have lost their last 2 straight as well as 5 of their last 6 games and they are coming off of a 47-10 loss to Indiana at home in their last game. They are going up against an Illinois team that is 6-3 this season and they are 3-3 in the conference. They are also coming off of their bye so they are going to be well rested for this game and they will also be hungry to bounce back as they lost their last game at home to Minnesota 25-17. They have lost their last 2 straight games, losing to Minnesota and Oregon, but they have had a very tough schedule recently and will be looking forward to a better matchup here. Michigan State has been good at stopping the run this season, but they have not been shutting teams down on the ground so Illinois is going to find ways to move the ball at home. Illinois is averaging 142.4 rushing yards per game as well as 4.1 yards per carry and that will help Luke Altmyer in the passing game as he has been very efficient this season, completing 62.8% of his passes this season with 16 TDs and 3 INTs. Michigan State has been able to run the ball well this season, but their passing game has not been great and they have not been scoring a lot on the road either. They have not scored 20 points in each of their last 3 road games and they lost all 3 of those games by 4+ points. Illinois will be able to play this game with a lead at home and Michigan State will struggle against this defense. Illinois will cover the spread in this game.