In less than a week on Saturday September 12, the showdown everyone has been waiting for will finally take place. MSU will have the chance to avenge their loss last year at Oregon, and this time the Ducks will play in East Lansing. There will be lots of excitement in town as the 8 p.m. game will be played under the lights of the Spartan Stadium. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 in the country to start the season, and this game will be a large factor for either team making the playoff. MSU is ranked the highest in the preseason poll since 1967, and Oregon will be the best non-conference team that MSU will play at home since playing Boise St. in 2012 and Notre Dame in 2010.
Both teams have won their first game of the season, and will still have to shake off a little rust as it is only the beginning of the year. This past weekend, MSU defeated Western Michigan University 37-24, and Oregon defeated Eastern Washington University 61-42. Oregon and MSU will still have a few kinks to iron out on the defensive side of the ball, but getting a game under their belt and another week of practice before this matchup will help.
After a year has gone by, both MSU and Oregon have lost familiar players at key positions. Michigan State has lost WR Tony Lippett, WR Keith Mumphery, CB Tre Waynes and RB Jeremy Langford. Oregon has lost QB Marcus Mariota, DE Arik Armstead, OT Jake Fisher and C Hroniss Grasu. All of these players are now in the NFL. Michigan State still has senior QB Connor Cook, which provides consistency going into this season, and Marcus Mariota is now playing for the Tenessee Titans. The new starting quarterback for Oregon, Vernon Adams, looks to pick up where Mariota left off.
The city of East Lansing will be even more alive than during a normal game day because of this huge game, and ESPN College GameDay will be here, as well. Night games don't happen very often, and adding two top teams to the mix will add to the excitement. All of the MSU fans, including myself, can't wait to see football back in East Lansing this year. We have to wait a week longer than usual, since this is the first year MSU played away for their first game since back in 2008 when they played away at California. The short wait will be worth it since both Michigan State Fans, Oregon fans and college football fans across the country should be able to see a great game this coming weekend.
