IU football game day: Michigan State at Indiana primer and prediction
Indiana closes out the 2023 season with a pair of trophy games.
First up is IU’s Senior Day game against Michigan State and the battle for the Old Brass Spittoon, which has spent two of the last three years in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers catch the Spartans in the midst of turmoil after a midseason coaching change. The Spartans have lost seven of eight and come to Memorial Stadium an underdog.
Here’s everything you need to know for Indiana’s eleventh game of the season.
MICHIGAN STATE (3-7) at INDIANA (3-7)
- Kickoff: Noon Eastern, Saturday
- Location: Bloomington, Ind., Memorial Stadium (52,626; field turf)
- Television: BTN — Jason Ross Jr. (pbp), Anthony Herron (analyst), Megan McKeown (sideline)
- Odds: Indiana is a 3.5-point favorite
- Weather at kickoff: 49 degrees, sunny, wind 4 mph, 0% chance of precipitation.
- Series: Michigan State leads 49-18-2 (last meeting, Indiana 39 Michigan State 31)
- The Coaches:
- Tom Allen is in his seventh year as the head coach at IU. He holds a 33-47 record.
- Harlon Barnett is the interim head coach at MSU. He has a 1-7 record this season.
INDIANA INJURY REPORT:
OUT0 Noah Pierre3 Omar Cooper Jr.6 Cam Camper15 Nic Toomer43 Matt Hohlt
86 Brody Foley
QUESTIONABLE
26 Josh Henderson
The Old Brass Spittoon
After a 2022 double-overtime victory at Spartan Stadium, Indiana will look to retain the Brass Spittoon for back-to-back seasons for the first time since it won three straight between 1967-69.
The Battle for the Brass Spittoon began with the 1950 meeting and the two schools have met in 66 of the last 74 seasons, which includes 13 straight seasons. During that stretch, the two teams did not meet in 1971-72, 1979-80, 1999-2000 and 2009-10.
IU Football Week 12 Coverage:
TALE OF THE TAPE
THE COMPLETE BIG TEN WEEK 12 SLATE
MICHIGAN STATE RESULTS
MICHIGAN STATE LEADERS
Passing – Noah Kim: 91-of-160, 1,090 yds, 6 TD/6 INT; Katin Houser: 76-of-133, 766 yds, 3 TD/2 INT
Rushing – Nate Carter: 167 for 711 yds, 4 TD; Jalen Berger: 25 for 93 yds, 1 TD
Receiving – Montorie Foster Jr.: 34 for 447 yds, 2 TD; Tre Mosley: 28 for 288 yds, 2 TD
Tackles – Cal Haladay: LB 74 tkls, 5.0 TFL, 2 FF, 1 INT; Malik Spencer, DB 62 tkls, 1.0 TFL, 6 PBU; Aaron Brule, LB 51 tkls, 7.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks
Sacks – Aaron Brule, LB 4.0
Interceptions – Jaden Mangham, DB: 4; Angelo Grose, DB 2
MICHIGAN STATE NOTES
• Michigan State will be looking for its third straight win at Memorial Stadium when the Spartans travel to Bloomington to face Indiana.
• Michigan State’s schedule currently ranks the most difficult in the FBS, according to the NCAA (opponents with a .722 winning percentage; 65-25 record). The Spartans have played three AP Top-10 teams (No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Washington, No. 3 Ohio State) and all 10 opponents are either .500 (Central Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska) or have winning records (Richmond, Washington, Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan, Ohio State).
• Secondary coach Harlon Barnett, who is in his 15th year overall on the Spartan coaching staff, was named acting head coach by MSU Vice President/Director of Athletics Alan Haller on Sunday, Sept. 10 and has since been appointed interim head coach. Barnett came back to East Lansing in 2020 after spending two seasons (2018-19) as the defensive coordinator at Florida State. He previously spent 11 seasons (2007-17) as the secondary coach at Michigan State, including three seasons as the co-defensive coordinator (2015-17) and one as the associate head coach (2017), before departing for FSU. Barnett has coached in four New Year’s Six/BCS bowl games with the Spartans (2014 Rose, 2014 Cotton, 2015 CFP Semifinal, 2021 Peach) and has been on staff for three Big Ten Championship teams (2010, 2013, 2015). Barnett recorded his first victory as head coach of the Spartans with a 20-17 win over Nebraska on Nov. 4 in East Lansing.
• Sophomore safety Jaden Mangham ranks tied for third in the Big Ten and tied for ninth in the FBS with four interceptions. Mangham recorded a pick in back-to-back games (at Minnesota, vs. Nebraska), and also had interceptions against Washington and Rutgers. In addition, he has three pass break-ups and ranks tied for sixth on the team with 45 tackles.
• Graduate senior J.D. Duplain, a native of Strongsville, Ohio, has started 40 consecutive games at left guard, the second-longest streak by an offensive lineman in school history. Duplain’s 45 starts overall are also second most in MSU history by an offensive lineman.
• Redshirt sophomore running back Nathan Carter ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten rushing, averaging 71.1 yards per game (711 total). He also ranks second in the conference in carries (167) and 11th in all-purpose yards (809; 80.9 ypg), and leads the team with four rushing touchdowns. According to PFF, Carter has rushed for 442 yards after contact (62 percent), which ranks fourth most in the Big Ten. Carter has rushed for 1,694 yards on 357 carries in his 26-game collegiate career (16 at UConn from 2021-22; 10 at MSU in 2023), including seven rushing touchdowns.
• Redshirt freshman punter Ryan Eckley ranks third in the Big Ten and 22nd in the FBS in punting, averaging 44.9 yards per punt. Eckley also ranks third in the conference with 15 punts of 50-plus yards and 18 punts inside the 20.
PREDICTIONS
Neither team has much to play for right now, but Indiana appears to be the team a bit more focused and bought in. That should be enough to help them pull out a narrow win and hang on to the Spittoon.
TDH PREDICTION: INDIANA 24 MICHIGAN STATE 20
ESPN SP+ (Computer) Michigan State 24 Indiana 23
ESPN FPI (Computer): Indiana has a 56.4 percent chance to win
