Predicting the rest of Michigan State's football season

This Michigan State football season has felt like a roller coaster for most.

While from a bird's eye view this season has been most of what we expected before the season started, it felt like this team has left some meat on the bone when it comes to the win column and what they get out of a few results. position groups.

So far, the Spartans are 4-5 and 11th in the new-look Big Ten. For the most part, they've taken care of the teams expected of them, including all but one non-conference opponent, Maryland, and a big win over Iowa. They've managed to keep losses to Top 25 teams within one score, including a four-point loss to Boston College and a seven-point loss to the team down the stretch.

A bowl game is still within reach, but there is little room for error heading into the seventh inning of the 2024 season. The bad news is they can only afford one more mistake in the last three games. The good news is that the remaining teams currently have a combined record of 11-14, with Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers no longer ranked. All very winnable games.

Let's get into the predictions.

Easily the hardest game on paper the Spartans have left, this is the game where they can use their latest mistake. While Illinois is a solid team, they have recently shown that they are very beatable.

The uncertainty surrounding the availability of key starters, quarterback Aidan Chiles, cornerback Charles Brantley and safety Malik Spencer, shrinks the chances of an upset. Fortunately, none of these injuries are expected to be season-ending head coach Jonathan Smith is confident that Chiles will not miss any time.

Despite the good news, I remain conservative and expect the Spartans to lose a close game on the road.

Prediction: MSU 17, Illinois 21

The Spartans are on the ropes in this situation with a projected record of 4-6. They get to finish the season at home and possibly secure a bowl game for their fans with wins this week and next. With lingering injuries to the aforementioned key starters now three weeks behind them, the Spartans take advantage of one of the more disappointing teams in the conference to get back in the win column and potentially become bowl eligible in the final week of the regular season .

Prediction: Purdue 10, MSU 27

With a bowl game appearance on the line, expect Sparty to pull out all the stops to secure a spot in December football. Something to note: Don't expect Rutgers to have an easy time as they could very well fight for a spot as they currently sit at 4-4 on the season.

It should be a close match, but I expect a win similar to most of this year, thanks to an excellent kicking performance from Jonathan Kim, with the defense doing enough to fend off the Scarlet Knights.

Prediction: Rutgers 17, MSU 19

I'm not an expert at projecting bowl games myself, so I'm moving this selection to the most recent edition of Bleacher Report's bowl season projection for this matchup. They currently expect Michigan State to meet TCU in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on December 26.

TCU is having a good year and is currently on the brink of bowl eligibility at 5-4. The Horned Frogs are led by second-year standout quarterback Josh Hoover, who is coming off an excellent season, leading the TCU offense to over 32 points per game thus far.

The defense has been the limitation for TCU this season, allowing nearly 29 points per game.

This matchup would be very intriguing considering the opposing qualities of each team. The MSU defense has been struggling with skilled quarterbacks lately, which made me think this game could get out of hand if the offense gets going early. I expect a competitive game, but ultimately TCU pulls away.

Prediction: MSU 23, TCU 33