Folks, it’s time.

Right when you thought there was nothing left to play for in the 2025 Penn State football season, the greatest trophy in all of college sports is on the line. Penn State will face Michigan State on Saturday with the retention of the Land-Grant Trophy in play.

Both teams are winless since September, both teams might start a different quarterback than they started the season with, and both teams have a head coach without a single Big Ten victory. What more could you want in November Big Ten play?

The line for the game, per DraftKings, favors Penn State by 7. The Nittany Lions’ money line is set at -285 with the reverse at +230. The over/under for the game is 48.5.

Penn State leads the all-time series 19-18 with one tie between the two teams in 1948. That game was a 14-14 rock fight, but recently the games have been high scoring. Penn State has taken the Land-Grant Trophy four of the last five games, scoring at least 28 in all of them.

The Team

Michigan State has struggled this season, and like Penn State’s James Franklin earlier in the season, head coach Jonathan Smith has taken the heat for it.

The Spartans are 3-6 on the season, with their only impressive win coming against Boston College at home in a 42-40 thriller. The other victories came against the MAC side Western Michigan and the Missouri Valley Conference Football side Youngstown State.

Smith took over as head coach in 2024, and after some of Michigan State’s wins were vacated for breaking recruiting laws, he has yet to record a Big Ten victory. He joined the team after a six-year stint as head coach at Oregon State.

Brian Lindgren runs the offense. He is also in his second year in East Lansing, but has been an offensive coordinator for over 15 seasons altogether. He joined Smith after working six seasons under the head coach with the Beavers.

The defensive coordinator is a familiar name in Joe Rossi. He has been in the Big Ten since 2012, working with Rutgers and Minnesota before landing a job as the defensive play caller for Michigan State.

The Offense

Michigan State is at the center of a quarterback debate currently, with no clear No. 1 being announced. Aidan Chiles, who was the starter in 2024 and most of 2025, was recently benched for freshman Alessio Milivojevic.

Both will likely be used, though nothing is certain heading into the game. This provides a difficult wrinkle for first-time head coach Terry Smith to prepare for.

Milivojevic proved to be an excellent passer against Minnesota, going 20 of 28 for 311 yards and a touchdown. But Chiles knows the offense and is a much bigger threat on the ground.

The Spartans like to run physically and rely heavily on Mahki Frazier to get that done. The sophomore has 526 yards and two touchdowns through eight games played. In the one game he missed, Elijah Tau-Tolliver stepped up with a 127-yard rushing game.

On the goal line, though, Michigan State will call Chiles’ name a lot as he leads the team with six rushing touchdowns this year.

Nick Marsh and Omar Kelly are the main threats in the passing game. Marsh is a strong human being with speed to go with it. He has 46 catches and 554 yards this season with five touchdowns.

The Defense

There is not much to write home about with the Spartans’ defense, which is allowing over 31 points per game this season.

Jordan Hall has been a bright spot out of the linebacker room. He leads the teams in tackles with 70, 20 more than the next person. He has also added 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interception. Wayn Matthews III has also been decent at linebacker in what is the Spartans’ best room on defense.

When it comes to getting to the passer, look out for Malik Spencer, Jalen Thompson, and Anelu Lafaele, each of whom has two sacks. Darius Snoow has also been used as a blitzer throughout the season as he adds 2.5 tackles for loss and .5 sacks.

Special Teams

Ryan Eckley is the main man on punts this season for the Spartans. He has taken 33 with an average distance of 49.73. His long is a 60-yarder, and impressively, he has only allowed one touchback.

Eckley and Martin Connington have split the kickoff reps this season, each with over 15 attempts. Eckely’s average is 63.19 yards, and Connington’s is 62.09. Both have sent the ball out of bounds on one occasion.

Connington is also in charge of kicking the field goals, which he has done at a 69.23% clip. The redshirt freshman is 1-for-4 over 40 yards with a long of 50.