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Michigan State's Aidan Chiles, left, and quarterbacks coach Jon Boyer meet on the sideline during the fourth quarter in the game against Youngstown State on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Post-Week 3 Bowl Projections for Michigan State

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Jacob Cotsonika | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Another week of college football means that there's another fresh crop of bowl projections out there. With Michigan State sitting at 3-0 after a 41-24 victory over Youngstown State, the Spartans are already halfway to bowl eligibility.

Getting three wins against the Big Ten will be challenging, but some projectors think MSU can do it, and they have some different opponents lined up for Michigan State in different locations.

Below are some projections from ESPN and CBS, as of Sept. 14.

CBS: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Washington

This one certainly seems a little bit confusing at first, as MSU and Washington are now conference rivals, of course.

But some bowl games, like the Las Vegas Bowl, have tie-ins that include former Pac-12 teams. For example, BYU and Colorado met in the Alamo Bowl last bowl season, despite the fact that both teams were in the Big 12.

The Spartans and Huskies have met as recently as 2022 and 2023, both of which Washington won. UW won the first of those meetings in Seattle 39-28 and then got a 41-7 victory in East Lansing the next year.

MSU and Washington have only met in a bowl game once; the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day, 1997. UW also won that game, 51-23. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 4-1.

If this hypothetical bowl matchup were to happen, it would be on New Year's Eve and would begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN (Bonagura): GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Toledo

A second game in Ford Field? Why not. MSU ends the regular season there against Maryland, and there's a chance that the team's bowl game could be there, too.

ESPN's Kyle Bonagura projects that Michigan State won't need to leave the state for a 13th game of the season, projecting that the Spartans will end up facing Toledo.

The Rockets actually played in the GameAbove Sports Bowl (formerly the Quick Lane Bowl) last year. Toledo took down Pitt in a six-overtime thriller to ultimately finish the year 8-5. Despite coming from the MAC, Toledo beat two Power Four teams last year in as many tries, also beating Mississippi State during the regular season.

MSU and Toledo have only faced off once before, a 58-0 win for Michigan State way back in 1925. Whether this game happens or not, that won't last long; the Spartans and Rockets are scheduled to face off in the 2026 season opener.

ESPN (Schlabach): GameAbove Sports Bowl vs. Ohio

Mark Schlabach, another ESPN bowl projector, also has Michigan State sticking around in Detroit.

The only difference is the opponent: the Ohio Bobcats, also out of the MAC. Ohio is sitting at 1-2 through three games, but all three of them have been against Power Four opponents. The Bobcats only lost by three at Rutgers, beat West Virginia at home, and were within four points of Ohio State during the second half on Saturday.

Like Toledo, Michigan State and Ohio only have one meeting all-time. That came back in 1927, when MSU won 27-0.