The Michigan State Spartans look for revenge on Saturday night when they take on the Oregon Ducks in a rematch of last year's meeting that ended with Oregon winning 46-27. Oregon eventually went on to the College Football Playoff and lost in the National Championship while Michigan State was left out.
This year the game is being played in East Lansing and the the Spartans are the higher ranked team at #5 in the nation while Oregon is at #7.
Both sides are coming off victories in their week one games but neither team was very impressive in their wins. Oregon beat FCS opponent Eastern Washington by a score of 61-42 in a game where their defense allowed more than 400 yards of offense.
Michigan State on the other hand beat Western Michigan 37-24 and they had some issues on defense as well.
Connor Cook, who is considered one of the top NFL prospects at quarterback, was not at his best in week one as he only completed 15 of 31 passes against Western Michigan. He will be going up against a Ducks defense that is replacing three starters in the secondary from a year ago.
For Oregon there were questions all week whether Marcus Mariota's replacement at quarterback, Vernon Adams, would be available to play after taking a hard hit to the head in the week one game that forced him to leave but he said that he will be able to play. In his first start for Oregon Adams had 246 passing yards and 94 rushing yards before he had to exit.
The real star of the game for Oregon in week one was running back Royce Freeman who rushed for 180 yards and should cause the Spartans fits.
Another notable fact about Michigan State from the opener was that their kickoff coverage wasn't very good as they allowed returns of 100 yards and 70 yards and that is something that needs to be addressed before taking on the Ducks.
This game will likely have major playoff implications going forward as both teams look to get an early marquee win on their ledger to impress the playoff committee down the road.
Kickoff is at 8 P.M. Eastern Time and you can watch the live broadcast here. For the Michigan State radio broadcast go here and for the Oregon radio broadcast head over here.
