Michigan State Spartans
Big Ten
11-2 (7-2 conf)
SP+ #28AP #5
Ratings
2021
- SP+
- 11.2 (#28)
- SP+ Offense
- 34.3
- SP+ Defense
- 21.7
- SRS
- 11.1
- FPI
- 10.8
- Elo
- 1595
- Talent
- 677
- Recruiting
- 191 (#43)
Schedule
record 11–2
Schedule
19th
toughest of 130
Offenses faced
21st
toughest of 130
Defenses faced
19th
toughest of 130
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 130 (easiest) · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Margin | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Northwestern | -11.1 | 38-21 | +17 | W |
| 2 | vsYoungstown State | FCS | 42-14 | +28 | W |
| 3 | @Miami | +10.8 | 38-17 | +21 | W |
| 4 | vsNebraska | +10.3 | 23-20 | +3 | W |
| 5 | vsWestern Kentucky | +13.3 | 48-31 | +17 | W |
| 6 | @Rutgers | -3 | 31-13 | +18 | W |
| 7 | @Indiana | -7.8 | 20-15 | +5 | W |
| 9 | vsMichigan | +23.4 | 37-33 | +4 | W |
| 10 | @Purdue | +10.3 | 29-40 | -11 | L |
| 11 | vsMaryland | +6.2 | 40-21 | +19 | W |
| 12 | @Ohio State | +29.3 | 7-56 | -49 | L |
| 13 | vsPenn State | +14.3 | 30-27 | +3 | W |
| 1 ·P | NPittsburgh | +17.6 | 31-21 | +10 | W |
Quarterbacks · 2
2021 · 65
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Payton Thorne | — | — | — | — |
| QB | 2nd | Anthony Russo | — | — | — | — |
Running Backs · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Kenneth Walker III | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 2nd | Connor Heyward | — | — | — | — |
| RB | 3rd | Jordon Simmons | SR | 5'11" | 200 | — |
| RB | 4th | Elijah Collins | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | 5th | Donovan Eaglin | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 9
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Jayden Reed | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 2nd | Jalen Nailor | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | 3rd | Tre Mosley | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 4th | Montorie Foster | — | — | — | — |
| WR | 5th | Keon Coleman | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| WR | 6th | Terry Lockett Jr. | SR | 5'11" | 182 | — |
| WR | 7th | Ian Stewart | SR | 6'3" | 215 | — |
| WR | 8th | Christian Fitzpatrick | SR | 6'4" | 220 | — |
| WR | — | Cade McDonald | — | — | — | — |
Tight Ends · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Tyler Hunt | — | — | — | — |
| TE | 2nd | Maliq Carr | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| TE | 3rd | Trenton Gillison | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
Offensive Line · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | Matt Allen | — | — | — | — |
| OL | — | Luke Campbell | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| OT | — | AJ Arcuri | — | — | — | — |
Defensive Line · 15
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 1st | Jacub Panasiuk | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DE | 2nd | Drew Beesley | — | — | — | — |
| DE | 3rd | Drew Jordan | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DE | 4th | Michael Fletcher | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| DE | 5th | Jack Camper | — | — | — | — |
| DE | 6th | Zach Slade | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 1st | Simeon Barrow Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 2nd | Maverick Hansen | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 3rd | Dashaun Mallory | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | 4th | Kyle King | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | 5th | Brandon Wright | — | — | — | — |
| DL | 6th | Jalen Hunt | SR | 6'2" | 315 | — |
| DL | 7th | Derrick Harmon | — | — | — | — |
| DL | — | Avery Dunn | JR | 6'4" | 250 | — |
| DT | 1st | Jacob Slade | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Linebackers · 11
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Darius Snow | SR | 6'1" | 230 | ★★★ |
| LB | 2nd | Cal Haladay | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 3rd | Quavaris Crouch | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| LB | 4th | Jeff Pietrowski | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 5th | Noah Harvey | — | — | — | — |
| LB | 6th | Harold Joiner | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| LB | 7th | Ben VanSumeren | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 8th | Chase Kline | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | 9th | Ma'A Gaoteote | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| LB | 10th | Itayvion Brown | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| LB | 11th | Kobe Myers | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Defensive Backs · 12
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | Ronald Williams Jr. | — | — | — | — |
| CB | 2nd | Kalon Gervin | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| CB | 3rd | Kendell Brooks | — | — | — | — |
| CB | 4th | Spencer Rowland | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 1st | Angelo Grose | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 2nd | Chester Kimbrough | — | — | — | — |
| DB | 3rd | Michael Dowell | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 4th | Marqui Lowery | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 5th | Charles Brantley | SR | 6'0" | 170 | — |
| DB | 6th | Justin White | — | — | — | — |
| S | 1st | Xavier Henderson | — | — | — | ★★★★ |
| S | 2nd | Emmanuel Flowers | — | — | — | — |
Special Teams · 5
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LS | 1st | Hank Pepper | SR | 6'1" | 215 | ★★★ |
| P | 1st | Bryce Baringer | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 1st | Matt Coghlin | — | — | — | — |
| PK | 2nd | Stephen Rusnak | SR | 6'0" | 200 | — |
| PK | — | Evan Johnson | — | — | — | ★★★ |
2021 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
34.377
Off PPA
+0.2568
Pass PPA
+0.3672
Rush PPA
+0.1659
Success
44%53
Explosive
1.3891
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2021 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.25 | +0.18 |
| Passing | +0.36 | +0.27 |
| Rushing | +0.16 | +0.06 |
| 1st Down | +0.13 | -0.03 |
| 2nd Down | +0.16 | +0.20 |
| 3rd Down | +0.57 | +0.54 |
Scoring Trend
2021 · pts/game
PPG For
31.9
PPG Against
25.7
Differential
+6.3
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / LResults
2021
- Overall
- 10-2
- Home
- 6-0
- Away
- 4-2
- Conference
- 7-2
- Non-Conference
- 3-0
- One-Score (≤8)
- 4-0
- Avg Margin
- +6.3
Situational Splits
2021 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 6-0 | 36.7 | 24.3 |
| Away | 4-2 | 27.2 | 27.0 |
| Neutral | 1-0 | 31.0 | 21.0 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 4-1 | 30.6 | 33.6 |
| Conference | 7-2 | 28.3 | 27.3 |
| Non-conference | 4-0 | 39.8 | 20.8 |
Season History · last 12
1 AP top-10 · 6 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4-8 | 1-8 | #82 | — | — |
| 2024 | 5-7 | 3-6 | #90 | — | — |
| 2023 | 4-8 | 2-7 | #87 | — | — |
| 2022 | 5-7 | 3-6 | #67 | #11 | — |
| 2021 | 10-2 | 7-2 | #28 | #5 | 1-0 |
| 2020 | 2-5 | 2-5 | #80 | — | — |
| 2019 | 6-6 | 4-5 | #41 | — | 1-0 |
| 2018 | 7-5 | 5-4 | #30 | — | 0-1 |
| 2017 | 9-3 | 7-2 | #23 | — | 1-0 |
| 2016 | 3-9 | 1-8 | #50 | — | — |
| 2015 | 12-1 | 8-1 | #20 | — | 0-1 |
| 2014 | 10-2 | 7-1 | #7 | — | 1-0 |
Recent Form · last 5
3-2 SU · 2-2 ATS · O2/U2
Betting Profile
2021 · 12 w/ line
| Straight up | 11-2 |
| ATS | 8-3-173% |
| Over / Under | 6-6 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 4-2 |
| As underdog | 4-1 |
| Home | 4-1 |
| Away | 4-2 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #33 · 51 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★152 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #57 | 196 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 2024 | #42 | 204 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| 2023 | #24 | 225 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| 2022 | #24 | 222 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| 2021 | #43 | 191 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 2020 | #43 | 193 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2019 | #32 | 215 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 2018 | #31 | 212 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| 2017 | #36 | 204 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| 2016 | #17 | 239 | 0 | 10 | 6 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
talent #36
Returning prod 57%Departed 43%
Talent composite677.1 #36 / 224
Returning usage (pass / rush / rec)37 / 83 / 93
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2021
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
12 items
- Oregon lands 4-star TE over Miami, Michigan, LSU, Michigan StateOregon football pulled out a huge recruiting win to close out the final Sunday of June. This time beating Miami, LSU and others.MSU1d
- 4-star TE Anthony Cartwright III to commit live with Rivals this weekendDetroit Country Day four-star tight end Anthony Cartwright III will indeed make his commitment this Sunday, June 28. He’ll announce his decision live on the Rivals YouTube channel. The 6-foot-4.5, 235-pounder has had his sights set on a summer pledge. This weekend, he’ll choose between five finalists: LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State and Oregon. Cartwright is the […]MSU4d
- Michigan State TE commit makes insane one-handed highlight grabWatch Michigan State TE commit Ryan Pankey make an insane one-handed highlight grab.MSU5d
- MSU football reveals who'll be attending Big Ten Media Days this yearSee which three players will be representing Michigan State football at this year's Big Ten Media Days event next monthMSU5d
- MSU football coach ranked as best in his field in Big TenA Michigan State football coach is considered one of the best in his fieldMSU6d
- Popular predictive model has Spartans missing bowl game again in 2026A popular college football predictive algorithm has Michigan State struggling again this seasonMSU7d
- Flip watch? MSU football hosted ACC commit, 3-star legacy DT this weekendA legacy defensive lineman currently committed to an ACC school reportedly took an official visit to Michigan State this past weekendMSU7d
- MSU football commit to play in All-American game later this yearA Michigan State football commit has been invited to a high school All-American game later this yearMSU8d
- MSU football recruiting target commits to ACC schoolA Michigan State football recruiting target is off the board and heading to an ACC school insteadMSU8d
- MSU football reportedly making good impression on in-state 4-star WR prospectA big-time in-state prospect in the 2028 class reportedly "likes" what Michigan State has to offer.MSU8d
- Michigan State Football Preview 2026: Can Pat Fitzgerald Bring Back Spartan Toughness?In a time of transition for the university and the football program, it's up to Pat Fitzgerald to make the Spartans far more physical right away.MSU9d
- J Batt leaves Michigan State to serve as new AD at KentuckyKentucky has hired Michigan State AD J Batt to serve in the same position with the Wildcats as he returns to the SEC. Sources told ESPN that it is a six-year deal.MSU15d