A turbulent, scandal-plagued 2023 football season for Michigan State gave way to a hopeful new era last November when Jonathan Smith was unveiled as the Spartans’ new head coach.
Since going 11-2 and winning the Peach Bowl in 2021, Michigan State has struggled, compiling a 9-15 record over the past two seasons. The 2023 season was mired in turbulence, with coach Mel Tucker suspended and ultimately fired over sexual harassment allegations made against him by Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault survivor and activist whom Tucker had previously hired to speak to his team.
The Spartans’ four wins in 2023 were tied for their second-fewest in a season since 1992.
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A new-look roster under Smith will look to get the program back to being a Big Ten championship contender.
Though it may take some time, there’s hope that goal can be realized, at least based on Smith’s head-coaching history. While at Oregon State, his alma mater, from 2018-23, Smith improved one of the Pac-12’s most disadvantaged programs, leading the Beavers to a 25-13 record in his final three seasons. That run included a 10-3 finish in 2022, which marked just the third time in program history that Oregon State had ever won at least 10 games.
Michigan State opens its 2024 season on Aug. 30 against Florida Atlantic at Spartan Stadium.
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Where is Michigan State football predicted to finish in Big Ten?
The early stages of Smith’s rebuild will come with some modest expectations.
Michigan State has been picked to finish 13th in the revamped 18-team Big Ten in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Network poll.
The projected order of finish was determined based on ballots from 13 beat writers who cover teams in the conference for outlets in the USA TODAY Sports Network.
The Spartans are behind three of the league’s newcomers — No. 2 Oregon, No. 5 USC and No. 9 Washington. The teams they’re ahead of are, in order, Minnesota, UCLA, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue.
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Big Ten football predicted order of finish
Here’s a look at the full 2024 Big Ten football preseason poll from the USA TODAY Sports Network, with first-place votes in parentheses:
- 1. Ohio State (8)
- 2. Oregon (5)
- T-3. Michigan
- T-3. Penn State
- 5. USC
- 6. Iowa
- 7. Wisconsin
- 8. Nebraska
- 9. Washington
- 10. Rutgers
- 11. Maryland
- 12. Michigan State
- 13. Minnesota
- 14. UCLA
- 15. Illinois
- 16. Indiana
- 17. Northwestern
- 18. Purdue