Michigan State may be down two starting linebackers at Indiana on Saturday

There’s some reason to feel more optimistic than normal if you’re an Indiana fan heading into Saturday night’s matchup against last year’s Big Ten champs.

Despite the Hoosiers’ stumble against Wake Forest, Michigan State’s coming off a 30-6 beatdown loss at the hands of Wisconsin at home. And they’ll be without at least one — and possibly two — of their stars in the middle of what’s normally a stout Mark Dantonio defense.

Dantonio announced today that Jon Reschke will miss significant time with an ankle injury, while defensive leader and All-Big Ten selection Riley Bullough is still listed second on the depth chart and is day to day after missing the Wisconsin game.

The Spartans have depth at linebacker, but their absences would be a blow to a defense that gave up more points to Wisconsin than Georgia State did one week prior. Shane Jones and Andrew Dowell are listed as the alternative to Bullough and Reschke on the Michigan State depth chart.