In his second year leading the Spartans, head coach Jonathan Smith will avoid games with three of the top Big Ten contenders this season. Michigan State’s schedule will likely be a major reason the Spartans perform better than in 2024.
Michigan State football finished last season 14th in the Big Ten Conference, going 5-7 (3-6) overall. In 2025, they’re expected to perform just slightly better.
Cleveland.com released their Big Ten Football Preseason Rankings for the 15th-straight year Monday morning. The Spartans are projected to finish 13th in the conference, tied with Rutgers.
Michigan State was voted to the top spot on this particular poll just once, in 2014, though it won the conference in both 2013 and 2015, and has nine total Big Ten championship victories.
Head coach Jonathan Smith is entering his second year guiding the Spartan program following six years at Oregon State. Smith was named Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year in 2022 and led the Beavers to a College Football Playoff ranking of 11 in 2023.
Smith built a strong foundation in his first season with Michigan State, which the Spartans will look to improve this fall.
Michigan State’s 2025 recruiting class is ranked 57th nationally and 16th in the Big Ten, per 247Sports. The Spartans’ schedule come fall isn’t terrible, in fact, they have a pretty decent shot.
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They’ll avoid games with top conference opponents Ohio State, Oregon and Illinois, voted second, third and fourth in the Big Ten, respectively. Michigan State will host projected conference winner Penn State in November and rival Michigan in October, playing its two most difficult conference games at home.
Category: General Sports
