REPORT: Michigan State's Bowl Projections Take a Turn

Few expected Michigan State to make it to a bowl game this season. After starting 3-0, that has changed.

Starr Portice, Michigan State on SI

After entering the season with few college football experts projecting them to make it to a bowl game, the Michigan State Spartans are only three wins away from being eligible to play in a bowl in Coach Jonathan Smith’s first season in East Lansing.

When arriving at Michigan State, Coach Smith’s primary task was to help turn around the program and help return it to where it once was on the national landscape of college football. The Spartans going to a bowl game in his first season would be a positive first step in that direction. 

Michigan State has started 3-0 for the first time in years and has a chance to make some noise over the next few weeks. The Spartans play multiple notable teams over the next couple of weeks, and a win or two would not only mean they get closer to being bowl eligible, but it would also likely help the Spartans inch towards becoming a ranked team, which would be an even more significant win for Coach Smith and his coaching staff in year one. 

Although many did not believe Michigan State would go to a bowl game this season, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports thinks it has what it takes to reach one. Palm recently released his list of bowl projections following this past weekend’s slate of college football games around the country, and Palm included Michigan State in those projections. He predicts Michigan State will play in the Detroit Bowl against Miami (OH), allowing many Spartans fans to cheer the Spartans on without leaving the state.

After beating Praire View A&M by 40 points this past weekend, Michigan State turned its attention to its next four games, which were against some of the best teams in the country. Palm has Michigan State playing in the Detroit Bowl but may have to redo his projections with Michigan State playing in a more prestigious bowl game if the Spartans can pull off another upset over the upcoming weeks. Coach Smith appears to have the Spartans on the right track.

Time will tell whether that is the case or not.

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