Time to look ahead to Michigan State

Fans with Husker tickets have a few weeks to relax before Michigan State makes an appearance in Lincoln to face the Huskers on Saturday, Oct. 29.
The two teams will have undergone two different roads to this matchup in Memorial Stadium. Nebraska has the week off this week before heading to Minneapolis next week to face Legends Division doormat Minnesota. Michigan State, meanwhile, will have played home games against in-state rival Michigan and conference leader Wisconsin before they make the trip to Lincoln to face the Huskers.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2003 season, when a rising young star in the coaching ranks got his chance to show his stuff on the national stage. At the end of that regular season, Nebraska had fired Frank Solich as head coach, and a young defensive coordinator by the name of Bo Pelini took the reins and led the Huskers to a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl.
While it would be five more years before Pelini would get his chance as a full-time head coach, the Husker football program has since moved into the Big Ten Conference and now will face Michigan Stateon an annual basis as part of the Legends Division.
Michigan State is coming off its best season in school history, going 11-2 last year. Although they were soundly beaten by Alabama 49-7 in the Capitol One Bowl, last year gave the Spartans some much-needed momentum and they are off to a 4-1 start, the lone loss a 31-13 defeat at Notre Dame.
Michigan State hangs its hat on its defense, and they Spartans' defensive unit has responded quite well, limiting opponents to just more than 10 points per game. While not flashy, the offense has performed well, averaging about 400 yards and 28 points per contest.
The Michigan State offense has a balanced attack. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has completed 68 percent of his passes for almost 1,200 yards and six touchdowns, with B.J. Cunningham the Spartans' top receiver, averaging more than 15 yards a catch. Le'Veon Bell and Edwin Baker are the top two running backs for the Spartans, with each averaging around 50 yards per game.
Michigan State's defense is solid, led by Max Bulough, Isaiah Lewis, Denicos Allen and Chris Norman. Allen and Norman have combined for five quarterback sacks this year, and the Spartans' defense has created 10 turnovers this season, including seven interceptions.
Michigan State has never beaten Nebraska in four matchups between the two teams, but it does have a connection with the Husker football program. In the 1950's, Spartans coach Duffy Daugherty had an assistant on his team who would go on to have some success as a head coach. The name – Bob Devaney, who left Michigan State to become head coach at Wyoming for several years before changing the fate of the Husker football program by taking the reins in 1962.
You can get great seats to see Michigan State take on Nebraska in Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29. Get your seats now at Ticket Express – where no Husker game is ever sold out.