The Central Michigan Chippewas finished with a losing record for the first time under Jim McElwain finishing with a record of 4-8 which led to the Chippewas not becoming bowl eligible and finishing tied for 4^th place in the West Division of the MAC Conference. The coaches of the MAC voted for the Chippewas to finish in 4^th place again this season in the West Division during the media days for the MAC conference back in July. 

The Chippewas enter this season with an over/under win total of 5.5 wins which means Central Michigan is projected to be a borderline bowl-eligible team this season and based on Vegas odds is projected to be the 7^th best team in the MAC behind the Toledo Rockets, Ohio Bobcats, Miami-Ohio RedHawks, Buffalo Bulls, Eastern Michigan Eagles, and the Northern Illinois Huskies in Jim McElwain’s 5^th season as head coach.

Michigan State finished last season with a disappointing record of 5-7 which included a blowout loss against their instate rivals, the Michigan Wolverines, by a score of 7-29. After signing a contract extension after his 2^nd season as head coach for the Michigan State Spartans, Mel Tucker may be on the hot seat as the Spartans have faced off-the-field problems last season and a 2^nd losing season would not sit well with the boosters or fan base. 

The Spartans enter this season with an over/under win total of 5.5 wins which means they are projected to be a borderline bowl-eligible team this season, however, if they don’t reach the six-win total I would not be surprised to see the Spartans make a change at head coach. Based on Vegas odds, Michigan State is projected to be the 10^th-best team in the Big Ten Conference only ahead of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Northwestern Wildcats, Indiana Hoosiers, and Purdue Boilermakers.

BookMaker has the Michigan State Spartans listed as 14.5-point favorites at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas on Friday in week 1 of the college football season. Michigan State has dominated the series, winning seven eight games all-time including the previous four matchups in a row while the Chippewas are 5-3 ATS all-time and 2-1 ATS in the last three games. Central Michigan finished last season with a record of 4-7-1 ATS overall, 3-3 ATS on the road, and 3-2 ATS as an underdog while Michigan State finished 3-6-3 ATS overall, 2-4-1 ATS at home, and 1-2-1 ATS as a favorite.

Michigan State is the more talented team entering the season and has been the dominating team in the series, winning seven of the eight games all-time including the previous four matchups in a row. However, Central Michigan has been the better team at covering the spread in the series, going 5-3 ATS all-time and 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. Michigan State will get the win, however, I look for Central Michigan to keep the game closer than expected which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the Central Michigan Chippewas +15 on the road against the Michigan State Spartans on BookMaker for week 1 of the college football season.