Here's the catch with that rivalry win: all 15 points came from Liam Boyd's leg, 5-for-5 on field goals, so the Spartans didn't score a touchdown. As of this week, Michigan State's best path to winning is to drag the game into the mud and win on defense. Washington's job is to make Milivojevic finish drives instead of settling for 3.
Before the Michigan game, the Spartans' October was rough. They lost 31-3 at Wisconsin and 28-10 at UCLA, and lost one-score games at home to Illinois (38-37) and Northwestern (24-21). They have the ability to stay close at home. They haven't finished those games.
Washington's road form is the most interesting part of its season so far. The Huskies won 38-26 at Purdue and 17-10 at Nebraska, and lost by only 4 at USC. They're 2-4 in the Big Ten, though, and their losses to Iowa and Penn State both came in Seattle. They're good enough to pick up wins away from home and not good enough to coast in one.
The forecast doesn't help the offenses either: 40 degrees, cloudy and a 14 mph wind in East Lansing. That favors a team that wants to run the ball and kick field goals, and it makes the deep shots that hurt Washington last week harder to complete. Washington is playing for a bowl game. Michigan State is playing to prove the Michigan win meant something. Any chance of a Spartans bowl trip is gone unless they win out.
