Penn State is back home on Saturday for their last game of the regular season and are hoping to keep their New Year’s Six bowl hopes alive.
It should be a bittersweet moment for [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], who will be playing his last home game in a Penn State uniform. He has seen his ups and downs, but one of Clifford’s best traits is his character, and that is something fans will always appreciate about him. The sixth-year quarterback will take the field one last time at Beaver Stadium this Saturday.
It is also worth noting that wide receiver [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] is out for the season with a season-ending injury. The Nittany Lions will look to players like [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag] and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] to fill the role of production.
On top of that, the Nittany Lions also have two talented freshman running backs to watch out for in [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag].
Michigan State has been a shaky team for much of this season. The Nittany Lions are currently ranked 11th in the nation, while the Spartans remain unranked.
So, who are the experts picking for this matchup? Let’s take a closer look.
Before we start, let’s highlight some key players from Michigan State to watch.
The Spartans are led by quarterback Payton Thorne, who has been a bit shaky throughout the season, but he does have key talent around him like running backs Jalen Berger and Jarek Broussard, along with wide receiver Jayden Reed.
Now, let’s get back to our expert picks.
First, ESPN is giving the Nittany Lions an 88.2% chance to win this game, while the Spartans have just an 11.8% chance to win on Saturday.
Next up, we have the writers over at Athlon Sports. Of the three writers, they are all picking the Nittany Lions to take down the Spartans on Saturday.
Next up, we have the writers over at College Football News. The consensus pick was Penn State over Michigan State. Not only that, but all of the writers picked the Nittany Lions to defeat the Spartans.
Lastly, we have our USA Today writers, who predicted every Top 25 game for the final week of the regular season. Of the six writers, they are all picking the Nittany Lions to take down the Spartans.
Anything can happen, but this would not necessarily be a game where the Nittany Lions would be put on upset alert.
Will Michigan State spoil Penn State’s New Year’s Six bowl hopes? Experts don’t think so, but we will find out on Saturday.
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