Five Players To Watch: Michigan Wolverines vs. Michigan State Spartans

The No. 13 ranked Michigan Wolverines take on Michigan State Oct. 31 at noon ET on FOX in a battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy at The Big House. U-M is coming off of a 49-24 victory at Minnesota, while the Spartans are looking to bounce back after falling to Rutgers, 38-27, in East Lansing.

Here are the top five players to watch on Saturday.

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After being just a rotational player last season (261 total snaps), Beesley is emerging as a weapon on MSU's defense in his final season in East Lansing. The 6-2, 260-pounder had his way with the Rutgers offensive line last week, recording four pressures, two quarterback hurries, one sack and three total tackles in the 38-27 loss.

U-M allowed just one sack against Minnesota in the opener, but Beesley will be one that Wolverines' offensive line coach Ed Warinner will have to keep an eye on this week in order to keep redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton upright.

The Minnesota game served as a coming out party for Barrett, who shined from start to finish. The Valdosta, Ga., native compiled seven total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble that was recovered by U-M redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter and returned 15 yards for a touchdown. Barrett also received a kickoff and returned it 66 yards to the Minnesota eight-yard line, setting up a U-M touchdown late in the first quarter, and recovered a fumble by freshman running back Blake Corum on another kick return.

Barrett was honored as U-M's Defensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance, becoming the first Wolverine since Jabrill Peppers (in U-M's win over Colorado in 2016) to earn such recognition.

Barrett will now look to follow up his breakout performance with another stellar outing against rival MSU.

Reed had a strong Spartan debut last week, after transferring from Western Michigan and being forced to sit out the 2019 campaign. He hauled in a team-high 11 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns, with 72 of those yards coming after the catch, showing he's dangerous with the ball in his hands. Reed did fumble twice in the contest, but overall, he showed that he's one of MSU's top playmakers on offense.

The Naperville, Ill., native will be up against a U-M pass defense that allowed just 6.4 yards per attempt against what is considered a very good Minnesota aerial attack.

U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned Mayfield among a group of 'unheralded' performers from the Wolverines' opener, but one that surely shined.

The Maize and Blue relied on the redshirt junior, who is the only returning starter on the offensive line, running to his side on 20 of the team's 31 rushing attempts, per PFF. In fact, U-M ran the ball over his outside shoulder nine times, and gained a staggering 184 yards (20.4 per carry) for five first downs and three touchdowns. In pass protection, Mayfield did allow one pressure, but was outstanding otherwise on a line that gave up just one sack on the night.

Lombardi received mixed reviews following his performance last week, in which he completed 72 percent of his passes and threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns but turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and one fumble).

MSU head coach Mel Tucker acknowledged his ball security issues in the aftermath, but was quick to point out the positives.

"He made some really good throws," Tucker said Tuesday. "He was poised. He was a good leader. I never saw him rattled. He continued to play the next play. His passing yards I think put him in the top 15 in the country and his completion percentage was high and red zone production was good."

He'll face a stiff challenge on Saturday against the Wolverines, whose defense notched five sacks and 13 hurries in their opener.

• Michigan State senior linebacker Antjuan Simmons — The Ann Arbor native is arguably the most talented player on the Spartans' roster, and he played that way last week, posting 11 tackles with three for loss and adding a fumble recovery.

• Michigan senior h-back Ben Mason — Not only did he give the pregame speech last week, but Mason set the tone for the Wolverines on offense, blocking at a high level and finding the end zone on an eight-yard reception.

• Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton — The Pahokee, Fla., native shined in his first collegiate start behind center, completing 15 of his 22 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 52 yards and one score on eight attempts.

• Michigan State freshman running back Jordan Simmons — The true freshman struggled with 14 carries for just 48 yards against Rutgers, but he emerged as MSU's No. 1 ball carrier (which was a surprising development) and should get plenty of run again this week.

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