Michigan State football: Post-spring game-by-game predictions for 2023

This feels like an all-too-familiar situation. Sitting at 5-5 with a bowl game on the line, Michigan State will, once again, face Indiana for a chance to earn a postseason berth. A loss could be the nail in the coffin to the season as Penn State awaits in the season finale.

It’s deja vu.

Fortunately, revenge will be on the minds of the Spartans and the kicking game won’t quite be as bad as it was in 2022. Michigan State will race out to a comfortable lead again and this time, it’ll hold. Indiana may score a touchdown or two to make Michigan State fans uncomfortable, but the Spartans win and will be bowling.

Prediction: Win (6-5, 4-4)

If Michigan State had lost to Indiana the week prior, I would have 100 percent marked this down as a loss, too. Losing to a bottom-dweller like the Hoosiers for a second year in a row with a bowl berth on the line would have been demoralizing.

However, the win may just rejuvenate this team and the program as a whole. Playing Penn State at Ford Field may actually yield more Michigan State fans, too. Not many fans would be willing to make the trek to East Lansing to watch a 6-5 team with snow coming down in below-freezing weather.

Now, the Spartan alumni in Metro Detroit will be there to cheer them on and it will actually pay off with a huge upset win to reclaim the best trophy in all of college football.

Prediction: Win (7-5, 5-4)