Michigan State Listed at 2000/1 to Win National Title at One Sportsbook, 150/1 at Others

• Multiple sportsbooks list Michigan State at +15000 to win the NCAA national championship
• Other sportsbooks put the Spartans at +200000 to win the national title
• Michigan State finished 7-6 last season and lost a thrilling 7-6 game to Oregon in the Redbox Bowl

If you’re a fan of the Michigan State Spartans, you know all too well how infuriatingly inconsistent the school’s football team can be.

They’re up. They’re down. They are all around.

The sportsbooks appear to be finding it equally difficult get a handle on where the Spartans are at heading into the 2019 college football season.

Multiple sportsbooks list the Spartans at +15000 in their NCAA national championship odds. However, other sportsbooks put Michigan State at extreme odds of +200000. (Yes, that’s five zeroes.) By contrast, Army, which hasn’t won a national title since 1946, has odds of +30000.

Here’s how the 14 teams in the Big Ten are ranked.

2019 Big Ten Football National Championship Odds

*Odds taken on 06/20/19.

Some sportsbooks don’t even list odds on the Spartans in their national championship future book.

Inconsistency, Thy Name Is Michigan State

There was a positive buzz about the Spartans heading into the 2018 NCAA football season. Michigan State was returning 19 starters from a team that went 10-3 and began the year ranked 11th in the AP poll.

In Week 2, the Spartans went on the road to Arizona State and fell 16-13 to the Sun Devils. A 29-19 home-field loss to Northwestern dropped Michigan State to 3-2 and out of the top 25.

They bounced right back with a shocking 21-17 win at no. 8 Penn State, only to come home and lose 21-7 to no. 6 Michigan the following week.

Michigan State never won more than two games in a row all season long, finishing 7-6 overall and fourth in the East Division of the Big Ten with a conference record of 5–4.

Heavy D, Oh For O

Michigan State’s 2018 season came to a fitting conclusion in the RedBox Bowl. A 7-6 loss to the Oregon Ducks put all of the Spartans’ strengths and weaknesses on display for a national audience.

Defensively, the team finished 11th in the nation in yards per game. Offensively, they were 115th overall in YPG and 114th overall in rushing YPG. Leading rusher Connor Heyward gained just 529 yards.

Limited by a shoulder ailment, quarterback Brian Lewerke regressed. His numbers dropped in passing yardage (2,793-2,040) and touchdown passes (20-8). His interceptions jumped from eight to 11.

The offensive line allowed 26 sacks.

Outlook Is Not Promising

To be sure, +20000 odds is taking things to the extreme. Michigan State isn’t that far away.

Then again, it’s not like the Spartans are realistic national title contenders.

Coming this fall to a stadium near you… #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/AJqeVqH2u0

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) May 10, 2019

Michigan State has won 85 games since 2010. That’s third overall in the Big Ten and tied for 11th overall among Power 5 schools.

If they get the offense straightened out, the Spartans are a legitimate top-25 team. They won’t win a national title – heck, they won’t win the Big Ten – but they should be a tough out for any opponent.

If you want to put a $1  on MSU — which would pay out $2000 — I won’t fault you. But you will be $1 poorer come January 2020.