Michigan State projected to be one the Most Improved Teams in College Football

With the improvements made to the Michigan State football roster, coach Jonathan Smith and the Spartans are looked at as one of the most improved teams in college football

Michigan State's new football coach Jonathan Smith speaks to the crowd during a timeout in the basketball game against Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

Many in the college football landscape predict that first-year head coach Jonathan Smith and the Michigan State Spartans will finish around the bottom of the Big Ten next season and not improve compared to last season. With so much uncertainty around the roster, putting the Spartans anywhere above the bottom is hard. 

However, Carter Bahns of 247 Sports has Michigan State in his top 12 teams who are poised to take a leap forward next season. With the new “explosive offense” coach Smith is bringing and the transfers coming to East Lansing, Bahns believes that the Spartans can play better than last season.

“The 2023 season was tumultuous for the Michigan State program as Mel Tucker's firing threw a wrench in the campaign very early on. The offense floundered under the interim staff and averaged a mere 15.9 points.” Said Bahns.

Bahns pointed out how with the changes Smith brings to Michigan State, “That should change with Jonathan Smith bringing offensive expertise and hordes of instant-impact transfers to East Lansing. Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles is poised for a breakout year in his first year as a starter, tight end Jack Vellingwas a touchdown machine last season at Oregon State and the coaching staff already proved it can take a team out of the Power Five basement in short order.”

Having Aidan Chiles as the starting quarterback does bring a sense of stability at the position, which the Spartans have not had in a while. Even though Chiles is a talented player, Chiles is still a young player and hasn't had any starts in college yet.

Michigan State will look very different from years prior. Having a mobile quarterback and weapons who can get open, is something that is needed to succeed at a high level in college football. Head coach Jonathan Smith has made improvements to the roster, however it's difficult to say whether they improved the team enough for the Spartans to be better than the past two seasons. 

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