Brady Hoke picks Michigan to beat Michigan State

Brady Hoke may not work for Michigan anymore but he’s still picking them to beat rival Michigan State on Saturday.

Michigan has immediately risen back to national prominence since firing Brady Hoke as their head coach, but he does not appear to hold any ill will based on his latest prediction. The former Wolverines coach predicted they would defeat Michigan State in their upcoming match, according to the Detroit News.

"“Michigan State, they’re coming in this game limping a little bit from an injury standpoint, but I did like in just evaluating how (quarterback) Connor Cook played last week (at Rutgers), he threw for 357 yards. I think matching their receivers will be the first test for Michigan’s defensive backs.”"

Michigan State is currently ranked seventh in the nation while Michigan has risen to 12th since a season-opening loss to No. 4 Utah. The Wolverines are already being looked at as a national title contender as one loss does not sink a season in college football anymore, thanks to the new College Football Playoff format that gives the top four teams a chance to compete for the national title.

The Wolverines defense will provide the ultimate test for the Spartans offense, which is led by quarterback Connor Cook. Michigan has not allowed a single point in their last three games, and no team has scored more than seven points against them during their five-game winning streak. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has brought a culture change to the Wolverines’ locker room even more quickly than expected after a 5-7 record caused Hoke’s firing.

Meanwhile, the Spartans have recently come away with ugly wins against bottom-feeding Big Ten teams, so a road game against Michigan may spell doom for this 6-0 team. Both teams have relatively soft schedules after this game aside from their matches against the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes, whom they will both play toward the end of the season.

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