Michigan State Favored to Win First Game of the Season

Michigan State is days away from the first game of the Coach Jonathan Smith era. It is favored to win its first game of the season against Florida Atlantic.

Michigan State's head coach Jonathan Smith watches over the action during the first day of football camp on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan State will soon take the field for the first game of the season and the program’s first meaningful game under Coach Jonathan Smith.

The Spartans’ first home game is against the Florida Atlantic Owls. It is a game Coach Smith plans to use to show off Michigan State to recruiting targets in future recruiting classes and as a springboard to what he hopes is a successful first season in East Lansing. 

While Michigan State has a challenging season ahead, as they face Oregon and Ohio State in a few weeks, the Spartans have a manageable first and last few games this upcoming season. Michigan State has a chance to make it to a bowl game if they are able to win the winnable games to start and end the season and win a game or two they are not expected to win. The Spartans should get off to a strong start to the season, as they are favored to win their first game.

Most predictions for this upcoming college football season have been released, and there is a favorable outlook for Michigan State’s first game. ESPN’s SP+ is a rating system used to predict the outcome of college football games. ESPN’s Bill Connelly recently released the SP+ predictions for each of the first week’s slate of games on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The system has predicted that Michigan State will beat Florida Atlantic by nearly two touchdowns in East Lansing. ESPN’s SP+ has predicted Michigan State to win by a score of 26-14, meaning technically, ESPN’s SP+ does not believe Michigan State will cover the 13.5-point spread that has been set for the game. Michigan State’s season opener against Florida Atlantic is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Friday.

Smith and the Spartans must take advantage of their winnable games to start the season, which include the season opener against Florida Atlantic and another home matchup shortly after that against Prarie View A&M. Michigan State must get off to a respectable start to the season as their schedule gets much more difficult during the middle of the season.

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