Michigan State Football Has One of the Toughest Schedules in the Big Ten
Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith are entering their first season together. So far, Coach Smith has faced multiple forms of adversity. Earlier this offseason, Michigan State had over 15 scholarship players enter the transfer portal simultaneously.
That was in addition to the overall lack of talent on the Spartans’ roster.
As the next season approaches, ESPN recently released its Football Power Index. According to ESPN, “the Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.” Ratings and projections are updated on the site daily.
After the most recent updates, Michigan State has one of the most challenging schedules in the Big Ten and the nation. According to ESPN, the Spartans have the seventh-most demanding schedule of any team in the Big Ten and the 19th-most demanding schedule in the country.
Smith and his coaching staff faced the usual hurdles of a first-year head coach at a new school. However, he has also faced more than a few hurdles unique to his inherited situation upon his arrival in East Lansing. The good news is that Smith has handled the situation at Michigan State admirably in his first offseason.
From rebuilding Michigan State’s football program from the ground up to having nearly 20 scholarship players enter the transfer portal to having one of the most challenging schedules in the conference and the nation, Smith will have plenty of things to overcome this offseason.
Luckily, the Spartans have turned their luck around in the transfer portal. After the dust settled from the many players entering the portal, Michigan State filled many of those voids shortly after. As Smith and his coaching staff do their best to return Michigan State to the national stage, they will have their fair share of obstacles to overcome, including one of the toughest schedules in the country.
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