Michigan State's Alante Brown runs a drill during camp on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the indoor practice facility in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

REPORT: Another Premature Ranking Overlooks Promising MSU Football Squad

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Ezekiel Trezevant | Last updated Aug 20, 2024 2:02 PM ET

Michigan State football has made many changes this offseason, which has led to many unknowns for the football team heading into the upcoming season. Coach Jonathan Smith and Michigan State are currently in the thick of fall camp, implementing new schemes and getting new coaches and players acquainted with each other.

Smith faces the challenge of rebuilding Michigan State’s football program and returning it to its former glory. He will do so after securing one of the better transfer portal classes in the country. While the first year under a new coach is almost always expected to be difficult, Michigan State’s first year under Smith will be challenging, as the Spartans have one of the most demanding schedules in the country.

The Spartans’ schedule includes a four-game stretch consisting of two games against teams ranked in the preseason top five. All four of the teams are ranked in the Top 25.

The new additions at critical positions on both sides of the ball, along with a challenging schedule and a new coaching staff, have led to an offseason filled primarily with predictions of Michigan State having a subpar season and starting the season with a low ranking among other Big Ten teams and teams nationwide. Many college football experts think Michigan State will struggle to win six games this season.

That was again the case as The Athletic’s senior writer, Chris Vannini, recently released his edition of The Preseason Athletic 134. Vannini ranked all 134 Division I teams in college football. He ranked Michigan State as the 70th-best team in the country.

Ranking Michigan State 70th does make some sense. However, there are other teams ranked ahead of Michigan State that were a little surprising. Vannini had Miami (OH), Texas State and Toledo, all ranked ahead of Michigan State to start the season.

Still, Vannini did rank Michigan State as the 14th-highest-ranked team out of the 18 teams in the conference, which is about the highest Michigan State has been ranked in most other preseason rankings this offseason.

Vannini’s ranking for Michigan State speaks for how many unknowns Michigan State has heading into the season. It won't be easy to get a proper assessment of Michigan State until after the first few games of the season.

This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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