The Final Quarter of the Season Will Make It Clear Where MSU Football Stands in the Big Ten

Michigan State has one of the most challenging schedules in the country this season. However, it has very winnable games down the stretch, which will show where it stands in the conference.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith takes the podium before talking to the media on the first national signing day for college football recruits Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King / USA TODAY NETWORK

Michigan State and Coach Jonathan Smith are gearing up for an exciting season.

Coach Smith and his coaching staff have spent the offseason setting Michigan State up for success this upcoming season and future seasons. As the college football season nears its first kickoff, Michigan State has routinely been considered one of the worst teams in the Big Ten.

The Spartans have made many successful roster changes, which they hope will help expedite Michigan State’s football program's turnaround. Considering the situation Smith and his coaching staff walked into, it is no surprise that Michigan State enters the season with low expectations on the field. 

Along with the issues Smith and his coaching staff inherited upon their arrival, at about the halfway point of the season, Michigan State faces Ohio State at home, Oregon on the road, Iowa at home and Michigan on the road over five weeks. This is another reason many believe the upcoming season will be difficult for the Spartans' new regime, as Michigan State plays one of the most challenging schedules in the Big Ten and the country. 

However, as Smith aims to return Michigan State’s football program to national prominence, he will first have to become again a formidable opponent in the Big Ten, a conference in which they are considered near the bottom. 

Although Michigan State and Smith have an in-conference four-game stretch, they likely go 0-4 in; they have just as many winnable games within the conference. Michigan State plays Maryland and Boston College early in the season, but the final four games genuinely determine where Michigan State is in the conference. 

Smith and Michigan State will end the season with three games played in East Lansing against very beatable schools. After finishing that difficult four-game stretch, Michigan State will play Indiana, Purdue, and Rutgers at home and Illinois on the road to end the season. 

While Michigan State could lose all four games against some of the best teams in the Big Ten, it could also win most, if not all, of the season's final four games. As Smith looks to turn around Michigan State’s football program, winning most of its last four games in the season could help boost it to within the top 10 teams in the conference.

This would get the Spartans closer to returning to the national stage, where Michigan State football belongs.

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