Michigan State football: Quick thoughts on 2023 schedule release

It’s schedule release day in the Big Ten and Michigan State football fans got their first taste of the 2023 slate.

We know who the non-conference opponents are as the Spartans open the season against Central Michigan, Richmond, and Washington at home before kicking off Big Ten play with Maryland in Week 4 and then we found out that they’ll be headed back to Iowa in Week 5.

The last time the Spartans faced Iowa, the Hawkeyes had their way with them in Iowa City back in 2020. Mel Tucker’s team has grown a lot since then.

Here’s the rest of the Big Ten slate:

It looks like Michigan State has an easier slate in 2023 than it had in 2022 but that doesn’t equate to wins. The product on the field needs to be better.

Quick thoughts on Michigan State football’s schedule

Getting tested by a decent Maryland team before heading to Iowa will be good for the Spartans. They’ll face a good offense before facing a good defense and they’ll see how they stack up against both.

Iowa and Minnesota both on the road are tough crossover games and we’ll have to hope that they’re noon games because playing under the lights in each stadium would be incredibly hostile — not that they aren’t already.

We knew we’d get Michigan and Penn State at home and the rivalry game comes two weeks after a bye and a week after a hopeful tune-up against Rutgers. That works out nicely.

Also, getting Minnesota and Ohio State on the road in a three-game stretch will be tough, especially since Nebraska breaks it up and the Cornhuskers can’t get any worse.

Overall, I think Michigan State should win at least eight games next year given the slate and I’d be shocked if they didn’t start the year 4-0 and potentially 5-0 heading into a bye.

This is a winnable schedule.