Michigan Wolverines
vs.
Rutgers SCarlet Knights
College Football Pick
10/8/16
Michigan was finally tested last week and they dealt with the challenge, but the Wolverines are back to their favorable Schedule with a trip to Rutgers. The SCarlet Knights are coming off a 58-point loss to Ohio State. With that, the Wolverines are a -27.5 point favorite on the road as seen at Betonline Sportsbook.
Michigan hasn’t had many tough Games in the early going, but this will be the first road Game of their season. Granted, that doesn’t mean much going against Rutgers, who they beat 49-16 last season.
Rutgers fought Iowa a couple weekends ago, but we now know that the Hawkeyes aren’t as good this year. More telling of this team is how they performed against Washington and Ohio State. Unfortunately for the Knights, they are just as bad in every aspect of the Game this year.
As a positive, the SCarlet Knights did Scorein this meeting last season with all 16 of those points coming in the first half. But what that doesn’t tell you is that the only touchdown came on a 98-yard kick return. Expecting Rutgers to Score16 points or even reach double digits will be a stretch against this Michigan defense.
Quarterback Chris LAviano has five touchdowns this season, but Four of those came against lowly Howard and New Mexico. He’s completing less than 50% of his passes and that number won’t go up after this Game. It’s a similar situation in the running attack with Robert Martin, although his numbers are a little better. But against Ohio State, he managed just 40 yards on 13 carries.
This could easily be another scoreless Game for the Knights, but at home we can give them a couple field goals.
On the other side, Michigan will be glad to not see Wisconsin’s defense. After just 14 points last week, the Wolverines should get back to scoring 40-plus, something they did the first Four weeks. QB Wilton Speight has carved up weaker defenses in the early going, and should once again after Jake Rudock threw for 337 yards in this meeting last year. That said, the Wolverines are better at running the ball this year and that means De’Veon Smith and company should be in for another big Game.
This line is surprisingly low for a public team like Michigan, but maybe some people have doubts about backing Speight in his first true road Game. And technically, Rutgers hasn’t been blown out at home yet, so there’s another bonus for them.
But the fact is that Michigan looks slated for 40 or so points and it’ll be tough for Rutgers to top 10. This line will surely go up throughout the week.
The Wolverines are 4-0 ATS in their last Four following an ATS loss, but also 0-4 ATS in their last Four road Games vs. a team with a losing home record. The SCarlet Knights are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 overall and 1-6 ATS in their last seven Big Ten Games.
Our Pick – Michigan -29.5