REPORT: Michigan State Has a Chance to Make a Bowl Game in Jonathan Smith's First Season

Few preseason predictions have Michigan State going to a bowl game. However, a recently released list of bowl projections that include the Spartans.

Michigan State's quarterback Aidan Chiles, center, slaps hands with teammates during camp on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the indoor practice facility in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

With college football season officially starting, there have been numerous preseason projections of how teams around the country will do this season.

Those predictions for Michigan State have been mainly less than optimistic for the Spartans, as they face one of the most difficult schedules in all of college football. For this reason and the fact that Smith is in his first season at the helm and few people know what to expect, Michigan State has not received many predictions that favor their chances of having a successful season and making it to a bowl game.

Few of the released bowl projections lately have had Michigan State projected to make it to a bowl game in Smith’s first season in East Lansing. However, College Football News is one of the handful of college football outlets that have projected Michigan State to go bowling this year. College Football News not only projects Michigan State to make it to a bowl game, but they believe the Spartans will play close to home in the Detroit Bowl with a 6-6 record.

CFN projects the Spartans to face Toledo of the Mid-American Conference.

While projections are just that–projections — and have no bearing on a team’s success in any given season, the fact that Michigan State is projected to make it to a bowl game for the first time in a few seasons proves that not everyone is counting the Spartans out this upcoming season. Some college football outlets, such as College Football Network, have confidence that Michigan State will have a productive season. Coach Smith and the Spartans will continue to fly under the radar as the season progresses. 

Michigan State officially opens Smith’s tenure in East Lansing with a home game against Florida Atlantic scheduled to kick off at 7:01 p.m. Friday on the Big Ten Network. Smith hopes to have a productive outing against the Owls, as many Michigan State recruiting targets will be in attendance from future recruiting classes.

Smith and Michigan State’s football team have been hard at work this offseason and look to prove doubters wrong this upcoming season. A bowl bid would go far in Smith’s efforts to turn around Michigan State’s football program.

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