Joel Klatt's Preseason Top 25 Is Bad News For Michigan State

Fox Sports' college football analyst Joel Klatt has become one of the most recognizable faces in the sport.

As fall camps begin across the country and the start of the 2023 season draws closer, Klatt released his preseason Top 25 rankings, and they do not bode well for Michigan State.

We've known throughout the offseason that the Spartans would face one of the most difficult schedules in all of college football, but if Klatt's prognostications for the upcoming season are correct it'll be even more challenging than previously thought.

Four of the Top 6 teams in Klatt's rankings are on Michigan State's schedule — No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Washington. Klatt also has Iowa ranked at No. 22, and the Spartans will travel to Iowa City this season for a matchup with the Hawkeyes.

Brutal.

Klatt called the Wolverines "the best team Jim Harbaugh has had at Michigan". Of the Buckeyes, the analyst suggested that this year's Ohio State team is better at every position than last year's squad, other than quarterback. Klatt also said the Nittany Lions were a team poised to break through to elite status, if they could knock off either Michigan or Ohio State.

Meanwhile, Klatt said the Huskies are a team he "really likes" and is "sneaky good". He also suggested Washington could win the Pac-12 and that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. could win the Heisman trophy.

Finally, the Fox Sports' analyst sees a bounce back year of sorts for Iowa, who had the nation's No. 1 total defense but was dead last in total offense a year ago.

"Iowa should have a really good team, and I actually think they're going to represent the Big Ten West in the Big Ten championship game," Klatt said. "You know their defense is always going to be good. I don't care who they lost, their defense is going to be fine.

"Offensively, they should be better," he continued. "They're better at quarterback with Cade McNamara transferring in. They get Erick All to come in and help out at tight end where they lost a quality player. Caleb Johnson is a really good running back, averaged over five yards per carry as a true freshman. And the O-line returns all five from a group that was really young and finally started to get it going late last season.

"This is going to be a traditional Iowa nine-win team."

If Spartan fans are looking for any sort of reprieve from Klatt's prediction on how tough MSU's schedule is going to be, USA Today also released the preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, which wasn't quite as bullish on some of the teams Michigan State will face this season.

In the Coaches Poll, Michigan is No. 2, Ohio State is No. 4, Penn State is No. 7 and Washington is No. 11 while Iowa is unranked. No other teams on the Spartans' schedule are ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll. That being said, several other MSU opponents received votes from the coaches including the Hawkeyes (No. 26), Minnesota (No. 40) and Maryland (No. 45).

Michigan State kicks off its season on Sept. 1 when they host Central Michigan.

2023 Michigan State Football Schedule

Sept. 2 — vs. Central Michigan Chippewas (7 p.m. on FS1)
Sept. 9 — vs. Richmond Spiders (3:30 p.m. on BTN)
Sept. 16 — vs. Washington Huskies (5 p.m. on Peacock)
Sept. 23 — vs. Maryland Terrapins (3:30 p.m. on TBA)
Sept. 30 — at Iowa Hawkeyes (TBA)
Oct. 7 — Bye Week
Oct. 14 — at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12 p.m. on TBA)
Oct. 21 — vs. Michigan Wolverines (7:30 p.m. on NBC)
Oct. 28 — at Minnesota Golden Gophers (TBA)
Nov. 4 — vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (TBA)
Nov. 11 — at Ohio State Buckeyes (7:30 p.m. on NBC)
Nov. 18 — at Indiana Hoosiers (TBA)
Nov. 25 — vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (7:30 p.m. on NBC)

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