Michigan State will enter the 2023 football season with one of the more difficult schedules in the nation, coupled with a lot to prove. Coming off of a 5-7 campaign in 2022, and with some key players departing the team, expectations may be softer on a national scale for MSU. However, fans will want to see an upward trajectory, and those within the program plan to outperform projections.
As the offense transitions into a new era, there are reasons to be optimistic for improvements. At the quarterback position, Payton Thorne transferred to Auburn, leaving the door open for Noah Kim or Katin Houser to take the reins of the offense. The offensive line should be healthy entering the season and has vastly improved its depth. Jalen Berger and transfer running backs Nathan Carter (Connecticut) and Jaren Mangham (South Florida) add balance to the backfield to take some of the load off of the new starter under center. With the departures of Keon Coleman and Germie Bernard to the transfer portal, and Jayden Reed now in the NFL, the wide receiver position is very young, but full of potential playmakers. At tight end, Maliq Carr teams with several transfers and younger players.
The defense returns several playmakers from last season and added some solid transfer talent in Tunmise Adeleye, Jarrett Jackson, Jalen Sami, Terry Roberts and several others, with many of those players projected to see plenty of action this season. At linebacker, Jacoby Windmon, Cal Haladay, Aaron Brule, Ma'a Gaoteote and Darius Snow (if healthy) all have experience, with a few of them looking to step up as leaders on that side of the ball. The secondary is young, but talented, and the overall depth of the defense appears to be greatly improved.
The Spartans also bring in a small, but extremely talented 2023 recruiting class.
MSU is set to play four teams that are projected to be ranked in the preseason top-15, with other tough matchups sprinkled in. I rank and predict the five toughest games, in my opinion, as it stands in early July.
No. 5: Washington
Date: Sept. 16, 2023
Location: East Lansing, Michigan
An argument could certainly be made that this game against Washington should be higher on the list, but playing at home with a raucous crowd at Spartan Stadium behind them and early in the schedule makes things easier for Michigan State. Traveling that far east could potentially play a factor for the Washington players' readiness as well.
The Huskies made things look easy through the air last year in Seattle against Michigan State, winning 39-28 and gaining 508 total yards of offense. Michael Penix Jr. will be back at quarterback for UW and has had success in Spartan Stadium before as the signal caller for Indiana.
Washington enters the year with lofty expectations after winning its final seven games of the season and will look to end the Pac-12s College Football Playoff drought. The Huskies return much of their offensive firepower from last year.
Despite last year’s outcome and projections for each team, I think the Spartans can be disruptive here at home. The defense as a whole should be improved. Particularly, MSU’s defensive backs room has another year of experience under their belts and will be motivated to bounce back after giving up 397 yards and four touchdowns in last season's loss. The Spartans will also have two games (Central Michigan and Richmond) to prepare and see what they have with the new look offense.
Prediction: Win
No. 4: at Iowa
Date: Sept. 30, 2023
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Nobody wants to play Iowa, especially in Iowa City. And double especially as your first road game of the year.
Michigan State caps off its September slate against the Hawkeyes on Sept. 30 in what is typically a tough matchup for the Spartans. Iowa brings in former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara as a graduate transfer to improve an offense that only averaged 18 points per game last season, yet still won eight games. Defensively, the Hawkeyes return several key players from a unit that ranked second in the nation in points per game allowed (13.3), including defensive back Cooper DeJean, who had five interceptions a year ago.
MSU will have to move the ball effectively to keep the pressure on one of the better defenses in the conference. It may be tough for MSU to pull one out here so early in the season.
Michigan State hasn't won in Iowa City since 2013, having most recently getting blown out there by a final score of 49-7 at Kinnick Stadium in 2020. MSU's all-time record as the away team against Iowa stands at 11-14-1, and the Spartans have lost eight of the past 10 games in Iowa City. This is why the Hawkeyes get the slight bump over Washington on my list.
Prediction: Loss
No. 3: Penn State
Date: Nov. 24, 2023
Location: Detroit, Michigan (Ford Field)
The final regular season game of the year will be played on a "neutral site" at Ford Field in Detroit on Black Friday. While Penn State fans will likely travel well, you’d have to think the stadium will be full of Green and White.
Still, the move to an indoor stadium on a likely cold late November night doesn't exactly hurt Penn State's chances, which has struggled at Spartan Stadium under head coach James Franklin, losing three out of the last four contests in East Lansing.
The Nittany Lions finished last year on a high note with Sean Clifford catching fire in the Rose Bowl, but highly-touted recruit Drew Allar’s time at quarterback is now here. The dynamic combination at running back of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen will be ready to take another step as sophomores and the defense should remain one of the conference’s best.
Penn State should be in the running for the Big Ten East title and this game may be a must-win for the Nittany Lions to get there. Historically in this even series (18-18-1 all time), the better team comes out on top. I see the Spartans putting up a fight to keep it close, but this may be one of Franklin's best teams yet.
The Land-Grant trophy may be staying in Happy Valley for another year.
Prediction: Loss
No. 2: Michigan
Date: Oct. 21, 2023
Location: East Lansing, Michigan
The last installment of this rivalry in East Lansing was one of the best games in the series and there will be plenty of storylines heading into it in 2023 as well. The Spartans won in 2021 largely behind the legs of running back Kenneth Walker III; last year, MSU's minimal success offensively came from the connection of Payton Thorne and Keon Coleman. All three of those players are no longer with the program and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson will have to develop a different strategy and find offensive rhythm this time around.
Michigan's last two seasons have resulted in Big Ten championships, but defeats in the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines return many of the team's key offensive playmakers from the last year. J.J McCarthy returns at quarterback, along with the two-headed monster in the backfield of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards behind him. The offensive line did lose a couple of players to the NFL, but appears to have reloaded, and the defense should be on par with its production from last year.
As fans know, anything can happen in this rivalry. Both sides will be motivated to make a statement in this game. The Wolverines want to avenge the last loss in Spartan Stadium and have aspirations for another playoff run. MSU still has a sour taste in its mouth from the ending of last year’s game in Ann Arbor and usually plays up as the underdog in the matchup. Still, as things stand now, Michigan looks to be the more heavy favorite, but a lot can change before Oct. 21.
Prediction: Loss
No. 1: at Ohio State
Date: Nov. 11, 2023
Location: Columbus, Ohio
The Buckeyes will have plenty of talent returning on offense, including at wide receiver with Marvin Harrison Jr. coming back as the Biletnikoff Award favorite and Emeka Egbuka not too far behind. The extremely tough TreVeyon Henderson returns at running back, too.
The big questions in Columbus will be who plays under center and will the offensive line be up to their usual standards. Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will battle throughout the fall camp to see who will succeed C.J. Stroud.
The Horseshoe has been somewhat of a house of horrors for Michigan State recently, as the Spartans have only won twice in Columbus since 1999. Regardless of who plays quarterback for OSU, which has proven time and again to have a successful system for its signal-callers, Ohio State is still expected to have one of the best teams in the country. While the Buckeyes may have more glaring weaknesses this season than in the recent past, the talent gap may be too wide for the Spartans to steal a win.
Ohio State's defense will need to find a way to slow down Michigan's offense this time around, but OSU, U-M and Penn State will once again battle it out for the Big Ten East title, in what is the final season of the East and West divisions in the conference. If the Spartans can win at least one game against those three opponents, that would be huge, but hard to imagine that a victory will come at Ohio State.
Prediction: Loss
