For the incoming football fans, now is an exciting time— football season is just around the corner and it could be a big one for MSU.
The Spartans are building momentum after two straight top five finishes (No. 3 in 2013 and No. 5 in 2014), but now is not the time for the team to get complacent.
MSU put together what was arguably one of its best recruiting classes ever in 2015 and the class that is being built in 2016 could very well surpass the recruiting class of 2015.
Head football coach Mark Dantonio has always done less with more, but now he is gaining the attention of high-profile athletes across the country.
MSU’s 2016 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 6-overall with 19 total commitments, now that Dantonio has gotten the attention of marquee athletes across the country, he can’t afford to lose it.
The Spartans are an early favorite to make a college football playoff run, anything more than two losses would be a wild disappointment for the team.
For MSU to secure a playoff berth they can only realistically afford one loss, there are two games in particular that the team will need to split at the very least—at home against Oregon on Sept. 12 and on the road against Ohio State on Nov. 21.
Coming into the Oregon game MSU should be 1-0 with Western Michigan on the schedule the week before. The Spartans will look to get the Ducks back at home after Oregon defeated MSU 46-27 in Eugene last year.
If MSU can manage to beat Oregon the team should be able to cruise through the early part of the schedule after that as the Spartans next four games would be against: Air Force, Central Michigan, Purdue and Rutgers in that order.
The battle for Paul Bunyan will come after the Rutgers game on Oct. 17. Michigan will certainly be better in 2015, but MSU should still hold a significant advantage in the game.
Following the rivalry game against Michigan the Spartans should be 7-0 with a worst case scenario of 6-1.
The team takes on Indiana, Nebraska and Maryland next before the Nov. 21 showdown that will more than likely be determining the winner of the Big Ten’s east division.
MSU should be 10-0 coming into the game against the defending national champion Buckeyes. If the team has a loss coming into the matchup with Ohio State, then this game will be a must win if the Spartans hope to make the playoffs.
The team should be playing in the Big Ten championship if they take care of business against lesser foes and defeat OSU.
Unless MSU is undefeated heading into the Big Ten championship, should they make it, they will need to treat the game as a must win.
If you remember 2011, you know that teams are generally not rewarded for making the conference championship but you can suffer consequences if you lose.
In 2011, MSU defeated Michigan in the regular season and both teams finished the regular season 10-2. MSU earned a berth to the conference championship where the team lost to Wisconsin and dropped to 10-3.
Michigan was selected to compete in the Sugar Bowl and the Spartans were left out of the BCS despite winning the head-to-head matchup. Because of this unfortunate standard the conference championship is a must win.
The 2015 MSU football team will be very talented, but ultimately its season will more than likely be decided by two key games— Oregon and Ohio State.
