Little Brother Scale After Week 6

When the Little Brother Scale started just a few weeks before the season began, there wasn’t much hope for Michigan to get ahead of Michigan State short of a win on Oct. 20.

That still stands to be the case, but Michigan State is making it harder to stand by that with each passing week.

MSU had another underwhelming performance last Saturday against Indiana, while Michigan put on an impressive showing against Purdue.

If you asked me today who I thought the better team was, I would have to say Michigan.

The Wolverines and Spartans both have two losses, but MSU’s losses have come at home against slightly lesser competition while Michigan’s losses have come on the road.

The Wolverines look better suited to contend for a title right now as their defense is playing well and the offense has the ability to move down the field when not turning the ball over.

The Spartans still have a strong defense, but it isn’t good enough to overcome the issues on offense. The biggest problem facing MSU is its offensive line, and that isn’t likely to change with two starters out for the rest of the year.

Despite my take on Michigan being better right now, it doesn’t change that the Spartans have had the Wolverines’ number for the last four years. It also doesn’t change that MSU has been closer to the Big Ten title in recent seasons.

Until Michigan beats Michigan State, I can’t put the Wolverines ahead of the Spartans. That could happen in two weeks, but two weeks isn’t today.

LITTLE BROTHER SCALE: MSU 16 ¼, Michigan 15 ¾