Michigan State football picks vs. Indiana: Can Spartans slow the Hoosiers juggernaut?

Indiana will be going for a bit of history Saturday in East Lansing; a win would give the Hoosiers their first nine-win season since 1967, which is also the most recent season in which they won the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl. Michigan State football, meanwhile, has less gaudy goals in mind: An upset of the No. 13 Hoosiers would be one more step toward a bowl berth (with winnable games against Purdue and Rutgers still on the schedule) in their first season under head coach Jonathan Smith.

Can the Spartans deny the Hoosiers their date with history, at least for one week? (They, too get to play Purdue this month.) Five Free Press sports writers have some thoughts on the topic.

SCOUTING THE GAME: Michigan State football vs. unbeaten Indiana

Carlos Monarrez

This one could get ugly, especially if the Spartans are still dwelling on their loss to Michigan. Even if they weren’t, the 13th-ranked Hoosiers are too good to be denied their first 9-0 start in program history. The Spartans’ only chance is if IU quarterback Kurtis Rourke struggles with the thumb injury he suffered two weeks ago. The pick: Indiana 36, MSU 20.

Rainer Sabin

The results aren’t always there. But Michigan State is starting to effectively implement Jonathan Smith’s formula of complementary football. The fact that the Spartans dominated time of possession and outrushed Iowa and Michigan in the last two games speaks to that. If MSU can continue to control the ball and win at the line of scrimmage against Indiana, it has a chance to pull the upset.

At the very least, the Spartans will be able to hang with the Hoosiers, who rank second in the nation in scoring offense. On Saturday, expect MSU to gain some traction on the ground, soak up clock and make Indiana sweat until the final minutes. But in the end, the Hoosiers produce just enough points to prevail. The pick: Indiana 27, MSU 24.

Jeff Seidel

Everything about this Indiana team is fun to watch. All the Hoosiers do is keep winning. Could MSU pull off the upset? Yes. But everything would have to go their way. Yes, here comes the broken record — the Spartans would have to stop hurting themselves. And to this point, we just haven’t seen it consistently enough to think it’s realistic. The pick: Indiana 31, MSU 23.

Chris Solari

Chiles and the offense continue to work to shorten games by continuing to milk the clock with the evolving run game. However, the Hoosiers’ ability to strike quickly early and late prove the difference, with a fourth-quarter touchdown sending the Spartans into their second bye week with a second straight loss. The pick: Indiana 23, MSU 17.

Shawn Windsor

Aidan Chiles will have more time to throw than he did against U-M, and that should free up Jonathan Smith to be more aggressive down the field. The Spartans will keep up with the undefeated Hoosiers for a bit but lose in the end to all that firepower. The pick: Indiana 34, MSU 27.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State football picks, predictions vs. Indiana