Michigan State Football: Ranking 2023 opponents by toughness

Michigan State football kicks off its 2023 season and here’s how our opponents rank in terms of toughness.

Michigan State football has one of the toughest schedules in the country. Let’s rank opponents from easiest to toughest.

Michigan State football once again has one of the toughest schedules in the country. That is something all Spartan fans have come to know in recent years.

The Big Ten East is one of the best divisions in the country and forces the Spartans to play three perennial top programs each season. Add in a surging non-conference opponent and that is a recipe for a scary schedule. What games stand out the most as the most difficult?

Let’s break it down and rank them all from easiest to hardest.

12. Richmond

Michigan State’s Week 2 opponent will be its easiest by far. They are the Spartans’ only FCS opponent on the schedule which more often than not means an easy win. This will be a nice tune-up game before the meat of our schedule begins with Washington coming to town the week after. Richmond is a respectable FCS opponent as they finished 9-4 last season, but they stand almost zero chance at pulling off the upset.

11. Central Michigan

In-state foe Central Michigan is Michigan State’s first opponent this season. Early-season jitters are definitely possible and I won’t say it is impossible for Central to win this one. The Chippewas are known to pull off an upset from time to time, beating Oklahoma State in 2016 and our very own Spartans in 2009. With all that being said, I don’t think it’s likely that happens this year and this will be one of our easiest games of the season.

10. at Rutgers

Rutgers is fresh off a 4-8 season that saw it win only one conference game. Michigan State also beat the Scarlet Knights last year, albeit in a very close 27-21 win. By no means do I think this is an automatic win, but Rutgers is historically the worst team in the conference by far. This may have more to do with just how difficult our schedule is, but I think Rutgers is the easiest conference opponent we will face this season.

9. at Indiana

Indiana is a program that’s gone downhill fast. They had an amazing year during the COVID-19 season, but nothing good has come since. The Hoosiers did beat Michigan State football last year, but that had more to do with our bad play instead of their good play. Every road game in the Big Ten is difficult, but this one will be one of the easier games we play all season.

8. Maryland

Maryland is another team that beat the Spartans a year ago. This time however we get the Terrapins at home. Michigan State football also dominates this series holding a 10-3 advantage all time, so I definitely think we stand a good chance winning this game. This game is very similar in difficulty to the next two on the list, but the fact it’s at home against a team we typically beat makes me feel a little better about our chances.

7. Nebraska

Nebraska is a lot better than most give them credit for. Their recent record may not look good, but they’ve lost a lot of close games. A few things go differently and the whole country would look at the Cornhuskers differently. Let me remind you, too, how fortunate we were to beat Nebraska in 2021. That was a magical season for Michigan State, but we arguably should not have beaten Nebraska that year. Nevertheless we did win, and I think we can beat them now, too. But it will by no means be an easy feat.

6. at Minnesota

I don’t know what to make of Minnesota as a program. They always seem to be a formidable opponent under Fleck, but at the same time they always lose games they really shouldn’t. Which Minnesota team will we face this year? The unknown of what Gopher team will show up that day as well as this being a road game leads me to think this game is slightly more difficult than the previous two on this list.

5. at Iowa

Kinnick Stadium might be the hardest venue to win at in the Big Ten. However, this Iowa team is not as elite as others on the schedule. That does not mean I think they are bad, I think Iowa is the frontrunner to win the West this season. Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara will give the Hawkeyes enough offensive power to match their stifling defense. I personally don’t give us much of a chance to win this game, which makes me nervous that I only have it as our fifth-toughest game.

4. Washington

Washington is a scary opponent for Michigan State. They have a high powered, pass heavy offense that does not bode well for our struggling secondary. I for one am also tired of having to play Michael Penix Jr., can he just graduate already? Part of me believes we can beat them since it is a home game, but it is going to be extremely difficult. Winning this game would also be crucial to help earn some respect out of the new West coast Big Ten teams as well.

3. Penn State (at Ford Field)

I have the Nittany Lions as our third most difficult game this season. I’m not really sure what to expect with this game as it is at a neutral site at Ford Field. We also tend to go back and forth with Penn State with the series being dead even since 2006. Does that mean we’ll beat Penn State this year? Only time will tell, but it is going to be extremely difficult to do so.

2. Michigan

This will be the best team Michigan has had in a very long time. Back-to-back Big Ten champs and playoff appearances is no joke. On paper, this is one of the — if not the — hardest game of the year. For starters, however, this being at home helps out a little. Second, Mel Tucker has a winning record against Michigan, holding a 2-1 series edge against the Wolverines. Lastly, I think this could be a game Michigan overlooks. They have their mind set on winning the conference and a national championship, and rightfully so. But I could see them overlooking us this year, thinking it’s an easy win and come out a little flat. We can win this game, but it is easily one of our most difficult games.

1. at Ohio State

Do I even need to say much? Similarly to Washington, Ohio State’s offense plays against our weaknesses perfectly. They have also had our number since our magical win at the Horseshoe in 2015, and I don’t see that streak ending this year. I hate going into any game saying we have no chance to win, but this one might qualify as that. Maybe we’ll be in for a surprise, but this game in my opinion is buy far the most difficult on our schedule.

A difficult schedule is nothing new to us Spartans, and I like to think we welcome the challenge with open arms. Whatever happens this year, this season will be a fun one and I’m excited to see how the squad bounces back from their struggles last year.