REPORT: Michigan State Football Projected to Have Difficult Season Ahead

New Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith has his work cut out for him.

Michigan State's Jordan Hall and the linebackers prepare for a drill during the Spring Showcase on | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Michigan State football has had an eventful last 12 months. It enters next season with a new head coach and will have many new faces on its roster by the time the season starts. 

In addition to all of the changes the Spartans have faced off the field this offseason, they will eventually have to turn their attention to the schedule ahead and the teams they will face this offseason.

According to Action Network, the Spartans' total win projection for next season is 4.5 games. While this may seem harsh, Michigan State's schedule for this upcoming season shows that there may be a fair number of projected wins for the team at this point in the offseason.

In the age of the transfer portal, most notable college football programs are far from the same team they were last season. However, specific teams, while new and improved from last season, are still better than what the Spartans will likely be when they take the field this upcoming season. 

Michigan State will start its 2024-25 season against Florida Atlantic in East Lansing before it goes on the road to face Maryland. Michigan State could go from 0-2 to 2-0 or anything in between through those two games. It will then take on Prarie View A&M at home before hitting the road to face Boston College.

The Spartans will play Ohio State in East Lansing and travel to Oregon to face the Ducks. They will have a bye week after. Then, Michigan State will play a home game against Iowa before traveling to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. That is a problematic four-game stretch for most teams in the Big Ten, if not most teams in the country. 

Michigan State will finish its season with Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers. Nearly all of those schools are relatively close in talent to Michigan State. The Spartans have a realistic shot of competing with those teams during those games in the second half of their season.

Suppose Michigan State can make it late in the season without significant injuries and with a few wins early, likely against Boston College and Prarie View A&M. In that case, it has a chance to surprise many people who are not optimistic about the chances of a productive season from the Spartans.

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