REPORT: After 3 Straight Losses, Does MSU Still Have a Shot at a Bowl Game?

Michigan State is on a three-game skid heading into its bye week. Did the Spartans' string of losses take them out of consideration for a bowl game invitation?

Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Nick Marsh hauls in a pass under coverage from Oregon Ducks defensive back Jabbar Muhammad as the Ducks host the Spartans Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan State has run into a rough patch in its schedule.

The Spartans are in the middle of a stretch of games where they face multiple teams that are among the best in the country. Many of Michigan State's opponents over the last few weeks were against teams ranked inside the top 25. That will continue to be the case with a few Spartans’ opponents after the bye week. Few teams in the country have a schedule that is as difficult as Michigan State's.

Although Michigan State has lost three games in a row, they started the season with three consecutive wins. This put them halfway to the six wins required to be eligible for an invitation to a bowl game. While many preseason bowl projections left Michigan State out, many began to include the Spartans after their successful start to the season.

Usually, losing three games in a row would knock a team out of college experts’ bowl game predictions. However, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports recently released his updated bowl projections, and Michigan State was still listed as a team expected to make it to a bowl game. Palm has the Spartans staying close to home and playing in the Detroit Bowl.

Palm predicts Michigan State will face the Eastern Michigan Eagles of the Mid-American Conference.

Michigan State is now 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in Big Ten play, which is about where they realistically should be after the first six games. Outside of Boston College, which the Spartans faced without wide receiver Nick Marsh and numerous other players, Michigan State lost to an Ohio State team and an Oregon team most would have assumed they would fall to. 

While three-game losing streaks are never fun, Coach Jonathan Smith and the Spartans must keep everything in perspective. They are not far from where they likely would prefer to be in Smith’s first season at the helm. Michigan State heads into its bye week searching for answers and improvement. 

Smith and his coaching staff must do all they can to keep the team together over the next few weeks and put together a solid end to the season. If they can, Michigan State will return to a bowl game for the first time in multiple seasons.

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