CBS Sports releases 'best, worst case scenarios' for MSU football this season
Michigan State football could be in for a very exciting fall on the gridiron or the bottom could completely fall out -- those are the best and worst case scenarios, per Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports.
Fornelli did his annual best and worst case scenarios for each of the Big Ten teams in a recent article, and to no surprise, there is quite a bit variance for the Spartans. If you're looking at the bright side of things, Fornelli sees the Spartans being in contention for a College Football Playoff berth into November and finishing with a 9-3 record as the best case scenario for this upcoming season. On the flip side, the worst case scenario includes an early season loss to Boston College that essentially derails the year and results in the Spartans finishing 3-9.
As I said, those are distant from each other meaning Michigan State has a wide variance for this upcoming season.
Here's the positive best case scenario outlook from Fornelli:
"Aidan Chiles shows development, and while his accuracy continues to be a problem, his decision-making improves tremendously, leading to far fewer turnovers. He also makes enough wow throws to fill social media with highlights. The Spartans knock off Michigan at home thanks to Chiles and a rapidly improving defense under Joe Rossi. A loss to Penn State in November ends the playoff dreams, but when Chiles announces he intends to return for 2026, the nation immediately begins hyping this program up as a 2026 dark horse."
And here's the negative worst case scenario outlook:
"Aidan Chiles continues to make bad decisions that lead to turnovers and continuously put the Michigan State defense in bad positions. An early loss to Boston College shakes the team's confidence a bit, and it craters following consecutive road losses to USC and Nebraska. Things only get worse down the stretch, and Chiles is benched before hitting the portal following the season, leading to a lot of question marks about Jonathan Smith's program heading into 2026."
In reading through Fornelli's assessment, I really have no objections as I also consider Michigan State a true wildcard team for this upcoming season. I recently wrote about how the Spartans have the potential to reach the College Football Playoff if some key things go in their way this season. But I also fear they could hit some rough patches and be battling it out just to reach bowl eligibility again late in November.
With any of these best and worst case scenario articles, it often lands somewhere in the middle. So with that being said, it sounds like Fornelli would peg Michigan State to be about a 6-6 team this upcoming season (maybe give or take one win). Getting to a bowl game is extremely important for the Spartans and Smith this upcoming fall, so they better get to six wins to keep this fanbase relatively happy.
Click on the post below to read the complete story from Fornelli:
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
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