TLDR: Nebraska rolls into East Lansing unbeaten through three games. Michigan State is still picking pieces out of its rushing attack after Notre Dame buried it.
+Edwards entered the year leading the Big Ten in rushing
+2-1 start under a new staff isn't a disaster
−Ground game managed just 44 yards vs Notre Dame
−Edwards held to 38 yards on 12 carries last time out
−No second-half rushing yards at all in that loss
Matt Rhule's fourth Nebraska team has looked the part early, opening 3-0 with wins over Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota by a combined score that was never really in doubt. Michigan State's story is messier: Pat Fitzgerald's first season started 2-0 before Notre Dame dropped a 27-10 loss on the Spartans on September 19, and this Big Ten opener now doubles as a gut check for a new staff.
The Notre Dame film is the one worth watching. Cam Edwards came in leading the Big Ten in rushing at 125 yards a game and left with 38 yards on 12 carries, part of a Michigan State ground game that managed just 44 yards as a team and nothing at all in the second half. If that's a defense finding him, not a one-week outlier, Nebraska's front seven inherits a real problem to solve.
Nebraska hasn't faced anything resembling that kind of defensive push yet, which is the honest caveat on the 3-0 record. Spartan Stadium sits at 72 degrees and mostly calm on paper, with nothing about the forecast that should push this one in either direction.
For Fitzgerald, this is the first Big Ten test of his tenure, and it's coming against a team that hasn't had to sweat through one yet either. Both sides have a real answer to give here: can Michigan State get Edwards untracked against a defense that hasn't been pressed, and can Nebraska's group hold up once the level of competition actually rises.
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Nebraska Cornhuskers at Michigan State Spartans — Unbeaten Nebraska Tests Michigan State After Rough Notre Dame Loss | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
North Dakota34-7
