Head coach Jonathan Smith's first season at Michigan State was certainly not what he had hoped for, with a 5-7 record and missing a bowl game by one win. The Spartans struggled, but quarterback Aidan Chiles did not quite pan out the way fans had hoped, and if he doesn't fix something, Michigan State would be on track to repeat their win total from the 2024 season.
With spring ball officially in the books, of course, everyone is going to focus on next season, and 247Sports is looking even a little further than that to bowl season. 247Sports' Brad Crawford made his prediction on which teams will play in which bowl games, and Michigan State didn't even make the list.
Crawford had 13 Big Ten teams making bowl games, with three schools making it to the College Football Playoff. However, Michigan State did not make it onto the list, which means there must not be a lot of faith in the Spartans improving next season.
Jonathan Smith needs to make some series improvements in 2025
In his first season, Smith had a lot to try and fix for the Spartans and also had a new quarterback, Aidan Chiles. After transferring from Oregon State, following Smith to Michigan State, Chiles had just 2,415 passing yards and 13 touchdowns, but he also had 11 interceptions, which did not bode well for the Spartans' offense.
This next season, Chiles needs to protect the ball more and get it into the hands of more trustworthy receivers. Smith did some good work in the transfer portal, almost breaking even with the players he brought in, with 21 commitments from the portal. Smith brought in two four-star recruits, offensive tackle Conner Moore and cornerback Joshua Eaton, and 19 three-star recruits
Not making it to a bowl game next season would be the worst-case scenario for the Spartans and could result in some tough conversations with Smith; however, a lot could happen, and some players could step up.