Michigan State Football: Ranking 2022 opponents by toughness

Michigan State football’s 2022 schedule is not exactly a cakewalk. How do each of the Spartans’ opponents stack up in terms of toughness?

Every Michigan State football fan has Sept. 2 circled on the calendar as the Spartans are gearing up to kick off the 2022 season against Western Michigan in East Lansing.

Western Michigan, Akron, and Washington round out the non-conference schedule before the Spartans see Minnesota on Sept. 24 to kick off Big Ten play.

Unlike some other teams in the conference, Michigan State actually has a non-conference schedule that includes a Power Five team. But where does Washington actually rank on the list of opponents?

Here are all 12 Michigan State opponents ranked in terms of toughness.

No offense to all you Zip fans out there, but Akron was just 2-10 last season and it’s expected to finish near the bottom of the MAC yet again. The Zips had a bottom-10 total defense, bottom-15 scoring offense, and bottom-25 total offense a year ago. Long story short, Michigan State should have no problem here against a rather hapless MAC team.

Unlike Akron, Western Michigan actually saw success in the MAC last year, going 4-4 in league play and finishing 8-5 overall. The Broncos didn’t exactly set the world on fire, but they weren’t pushovers either. They had the nation’s 12th-best total offense and 18th-best total defense.

Unfortunately, they lose Kaleb Eleby and Skyy Moore which means the offense is going to take a noticeable step back. And the defense’s strength — the secondary — will be starting three new players.