For many, spring football is in the rearview mirror and it’s time for college football fans to begin looking ahead to the fall. That includes us fellow Spartans, with Michigan State completing its spring practice session this past weekend.
With Michigan State wrapping up spring ball, we can start to look ahead to the 2023 season and review the upcoming slate — which is considered one of the hardest in the country. Michigan State will face at least four preseason top 25 teams next year, including the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Washington and rival Michigan. Add in a pair of tough road trips to Minnesota and Iowa, and we are looking at quite a daunting schedule in 2023.
So how does the Spartans’ schedule stack up in terms of their chances to win each game? I have taken a stab at placing each game into a toughness tier ranging from expected to win to toss-up to very unlikely we see a Spartans victory.
Check out where each opponent on the Spartans’ 2023 schedule falls below:
Tier 1: Must win - no excuse for losing
Games that Michigan State must win to avoid a complete meltdown season:
- Central Michigan (Sept. 2)
- Richmond (Sept. 9)
If Michigan State doesn’t open the season 2-0, then we are in BIG trouble this year. It’s nothing against Central Michigan or Richmond, but there are no excuses for the Spartans to lose either of these games and better be a perfect 2-0 by the time top 10 Washington comes to Spartan Stadium in mid-September.
Tier 2: Should win to experience any success
Games that Michigan State will be favorites and need to win in order to reach a bowl game:
- at Rutgers (Oct. 14)
- Nebraska (Nov. 4)
- at Indiana (Nov. 18)
If the Spartans are going to reach a bowl game this year, they’ll need to win at least two of these games and probably all three unless they make it up in one of the other harder tiers. Rutgers and Indiana should be two of the worse teams in the league this fall, and Nebraska will be in the first year under a new head coach — so all three of these are games Michigan State should expect to win.
Tier 3: Toss-up games
Games that could go either way, with Michigan State being capable of winning or losing based on a few plays either way:
- Maryland (Sept. 23)
- at Iowa (Sept. 30)
- at Minnesota (Oct. 28)
The toss-up games will ultimately determine how strong of a season the Spartans have in 2023. I like them to win at least one of these three games, but there are certainly paths to winning each — or losing each as well. If Michigan State wins all three then we are talking about a potential New Year’s Day bowl game in January but if they lose all three then it could be another winter
Tier 4: MSU upset special
Games where Michigan State will be most likely be a sizeable underdog but wouldn’t be shocked to see the Spartans pull the upset:
- Washington (Sept. 16)
- Michigan (Oct. 21)
- Penn State (Nov. 25)
There’s a very strong chance Michigan State will host a trio of top 10 teams this fall — Washington, Michigan and Penn State. All three of these teams will contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff and would beat the Spartans more often than not on a level playing field. But with each of these games being played at Spartan Stadium, don’t count out a potential upset special against any of these teams.
Tier 5: Hard to see MSU winning
Games where I’m hard-pressed to find a way the Spartans will win:
- at Ohio State (Nov. 11)
The Buckeyes may not even be the best team in the league this year — they haven’t been the past two seasons — but they are the most talented team on paper and almost always are a bad matchup for the Spartans. I once heard Ryan Day has constructed Ohio State to beat Michigan State by 40 points but lose to Michigan annually, and that again seems about right as I’m not sure how the Spartans can pull an upset at Ohio Stadium this fall.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.
