As much as I love the Wolverine hire of Harbaugh and the program itself- in what world is Michigan an 8 or 8.5 favorite over Michigan State? They are just getting started at getting back on the right track toward rebuilding a winning program. This line shows that Linesmakers set lines on the principle of lack of real knowledge by the betting public. There is no way in the world that the Wolverines have improved that much that quickly. It also is a slap in the face to a very strong Michigan State program. As much as I hate to say this- the Spartans will be motivated beyond belief to set the record straight in this game. Michigan will get a wake up call in this particular game.
As a matter of fact, this game would have to be fixed for the Wolverines to cover that spread. They should be the dog in this game no matter how uniformed the general betting public is. I've seen some fixed games (pro level) but this game will not be one of them (imo).