Mitten Masterkey: Week 7
Four games are on deck for Week 7, building up to a big test for Michigan in primetime.
Week 7 is here, and this (late) edition of the Mitten Masterkey has all one needs to navigate a Saturday of FBS football in the Mitten.
Let’s dig in.
Mitten Football will be at…
The Factory, AKA Rynearson Stadium, marking the fifth of five stadiums Mitten Football will have reported from this season.
The schedule and TV assignments
All games are Saturday this week, Central Michigan is idle.
Noon — Michigan State vs. UCLA, Big Ten Network/FOX streaming
1:00 p.m. — Eastern Michigan vs. Northern Illinois, ESPN+ streaming
3:30 p.m. — Western Michigan vs. Ball State, ESPN+ streaming
7:30 p.m. — Michigan at USC, NBC/Peacock
And for the uninitiated, this master schedule absolutely rocks (just be aware times are central).
Pregame, halftime reading from Mitten Football, others
- Eastern Michigan players, coaches keeping clear heads, feel close to turning corner amid early frustrations (Mitten Football, Oct. 7)
- Michigan State hunting consistent offensive play after flashes in 0-2 start in Big Ten (Mitten Football, Oct. 7)
- Michigan football at USC is the pendulum swing game of the season (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 8)
- Spartans hope to turn 'flashes' into stout, full-game defensive effort (Detroit News, Oct. 8)
- On Michigan’s vaunted defensive line, one name is quietly standing out (MLive, Oct. 9)
- Nico Iamaleava was Aidan Chiles' HS rival. Michigan State's QB still looking for first win (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 9)
- Catching on: Michigan’s pass offense evolution hinges on nixing drops, misfires (Mitten Football, Oct. 9)
- Eastern Michigan QB Noah Kim can't help but smile about his four years at Michigan State (Detroit News, Oct. 10)
- QB Luke Creighton, Salem football aim to leave program's past in a pile of ash (Detroit Free Press, Oct. 10)
Picks and preview
Check them out here with longer previews, but for a brief version (scores not included):
- Michigan State over UCLA
- Eastern Michigan over Northern Illinois
- Western Michigan over Ball State
- Michigan over USC
A freshman to watch: Andrew Marsh, Michigan receiver
He started the year returning kicks and coaches talked about him getting better and better. It all culminated in his first career start this past Saturday against Wisconsin, a four catch, 80 yard performance highlighted by an impressive leaping backshoulder catch down the sideline.
Marsh, along with veteran Donaven McCulley, seem to give the Wolverines some steadiness and playmaking on the outside, and could help the passing game take a next step. And Michigan might need that to be this weekend against USC.
A unit to watch: Michigan State’s run defense
The Spartans have played good run defense this season, and were mostly smothering Nebraska until a handful of explosive touchdown runs at the end put the game away for Nebraska. The group will be tested this week by a UCLA offense that sliced through Penn State on the ground and has a strong runner under center in Nico Iamaleava.
If the MSU front and linebackers can hold up, UCLA will likely fall back to a much more one-dimensional passing game. If not, the Bruins will make this a game.
A fun prediction: Western Michigan wins four in a row
This isn’t fun insofar as being wacky or a singular moment, even. But after starting 0-3, Western Michigan never gave up the rope and is the winner of three straight, including two conference games. A win on Saturday, along with pushing the Broncos to 3-0 and keeping them atop the MAC standings, would mark four straight wins.
And what’s more fun that a month of winning to put the season back on track?
