The month of July is now here, which means we are finally entering the preseason for college football. While media days are still a couple of weeks away, players across the nation are flocking back to campus and starting to ramp activity up, getting prepared for fall camp to begin.
It will be a historic season of college football across the nation, with conference realignment and an expanded College Football Playoff shaking up the landscape. It will also be a different season for the Oregon Ducks, who enter the Big Ten Conference for the first time starting on Aug. 2. To help forecast what Dan Lanning and his team will see this year, and preview the opponents on Oregon’s schedule and beyond, we’re going to go through all of the members of the conference and detail everything Duck fans need to know.
We continue with Michigan State.
Team Previews: Illinois Fighting Illini — Indiana Hoosiers — Iowa Hawkeyes — Maryland Terrapins — Michigan Wolverines
Position Previews: Quarterbacks — Running Backs — Wide Receivers
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It’s a brand new era in East Lansing as the Michigan State Spartans look to move on from the Mel Tucker years in favor of a coach, Jonathan Smith, who hasn’t exactly had a smooth start. There were many entries into the transfer portal in the offseason and then after the spring game, leaving the Spartans looking at a rebuild.
Michigan State is one of those schools that has shown the ability to win on a big-time level but hasn’t shown the consistency to do it on a regular basis. Right now, the Spartans aren’t one of those teams who project to compete for a Big Ten title or a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. It’s going to take a while. The only question is will the fans and donors have the patience to let the new coach build the program or will Michigan’s success cause the Spartans to be impatient and expect to win sooner rather than later?
Let’s get into the preview.
Meet the Coach
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Jonathan Smith (34-35)
It’s the most familiar face to Oregon Duck fans. Former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith left Corvallis for the greener pastures of Michigan State with the hopes of turning the Spartan program around.
In some respects, the relationship between the Michigan schools is similar to the relationship between the Oregon schools. The Spartans are the “little brother” to the Wolverines. Smith is in the same place with Michigan State as he was at Oregon State, but in East Lansing, Smith will have a chance to compete at a higher level than he did in Corvallis with greater resources to succeed.
Recent Team History
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Michigan State was riding high in 2021 after an 11-2 finish and winning the Peach Bowl, 31-21, over No. 13 Pittsburgh. It’s been downhill ever since. After losing records in 2022 (5-7) and 2023 (4-8), coach Mel Tucker was let go midseason last year amid allegations of sexual harassment. Although the case was eventually dismissed, it gave the school justification to cut ties. Now the Spartans look to head into an expanded Big Ten Conference and rebuild quickly.
Biggest 2023 Departures
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- Head Coach Mel Tucker
- DL Derrick Harmon (Oregon) | 2023 stats: 40 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks
- DL Simeon Barrow (Miami) | 2023 stats: 36 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks
- DB Jaden Mangham (Michigan) | 2023 stats: 53 tackles, 4 INTs
- OL Geno VanDeMark (Alabama)
Biggest 2024 Additions
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- Head Coach Jonathan Smith (Oregon State)
- QB Aiden Chiles (Oregon State) | 2023 stats: 24-of-35 passing, 309 yards, 4 TDs
- DL Ru’Quan Buckley (Nebraska) | 2023 stats: 8 games, 1 tackle
- DL Jalen Satchell (Old Dominion) | 2023 stats: 16 tackles, 1 for loss, 1 sack
- DL Ben Roberts (Oregon) | 2023 stats: 5 games, 2 tackles
Where They Fall on the Oregon Schedule
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As fate would have it, Michigan State is Oregon’s first home Big Ten game. Smith was also the opposing coach for the Ducks’ last Pac-12 regular-season game. Coincidence or do the Big Ten schedulers have a sense of humor or irony? The game is on Oct. 4, a Friday night game in front of what should be a huge television audience on Fox. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. PDT.
Win Total Over/Under
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5.5 wins
Given the schedule, it will be tough for the Spartans to reach the six-game win total necessary to be bowl eligible. They have to defeat the nonconference opponents: Florida Atlantic, Prairie View A&M and Boston College. Then they have to somehow find three conference wins. It’s going to be difficult.
Bowl Projection
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No Bowl
The Spartans can reach the six-win mark in Smith’s first season as head coach, but we don’t see it happening. The schedule-makers didn’t do them any favors. They have the third-toughest slate in the nation. Michigan State’s first five league games are at Maryland, Ohio State, at Oregon, Iowa, and at Michigan. Going 2-3 there would be a great feat.
Overall Season Outlook
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The recent seasons for the Spartans weren’t great, and they gave the administration an excuse to fire Mel Tucker for his off-the-field issues. Many in East Lansing questioned the hire of Jonathan Smith, a supposed outsider, however. Smith will not have a long leash and might get three seasons to turn this around. The mass exodus to the transfer portal didn’t help his cause either.
But a bowl appearance and signs of improvement would help the fan base believe in Smith. That bowl game is a 50-50 proposition. The Spartans will most likely miss the postseason for the third straight season. Michigan State needs to make a vast improvement in 2025 or Smith will find himself on the hot seat rather quickly. The school definitely doesn’t want to play second fiddle to Michigan, especially after watching the Wolverines win a national title in 2023.
Versatile quarterback Aiden Chiles showed promise at Oregon State and will most likely be the starter for the Spartans, but he’ll have to beat Tommy Schuster in fall camp.
