A look at IU football’s 2024 opponents: Week 9 — Michigan State

With college football season starting to creep up, we’re running down Indiana’s schedule to preview all 12 opponents for 2024.

IU takes on Michigan State in its penultimate road game of the season. The Spartans recaptured the Old Brass Spittoon last year in Bloomington, but they endured another disappointing campaign in the midst of Mel Tucker’s midseason dismissal. MSU hired Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith to take over this year, and his team will look a lot different than last year’s.

Opponent: Michigan State
Date/Time/TV: Saturday, November 2, TBA
Location: Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Mich.
2023 record/postseason result: 4-8, 2-7 Big Ten

Returning production, offense: 46 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN) (109th in the country)

Offensive outlook: Much of the Spartan roster overhaul came on offense. That may be for the best, as Michigan State’s offense was one of the worst in the country last season. Smith’s Beavers fared better, ranking 46th in the country with 409.2 yards per game. Smith took most of his offensive assistants with him from Corvallis to East Lansing, including offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Lindgren.

Smith also brought sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles with him from OSU, and Chiles will most likely start for MSU this year. Chiles saw limited playing time last season behind DJ Uiagalelei at Oregon State, but still displayed potential as both a passer and a runner.

MSU’s receiving corps could be thin, though. The Spartans were active in the transfer portal, but they didn’t bring in any wide receivers in this offseason. Last season’s leading receiver, redshirt senior Montorie Foster Jr. (43 receptions, 576 yards, three touchdowns) is back. But MSU lost its second-leading receiver, tight end Maliq Carr, to the transfer portal; Carr enjoyed a huge game against IU last year. Junior Oregon State transfer Jack Velling (29 catches, 438 yards, eight touchdowns) earned second-team All-Pac 12 honors last year and could be a key piece for MSU this year.

Although Oregon State’s rushing offense ranked in the middle of the pack both nationally and in the Pac-12 last season, Damien Martinez was one of the best running backs in the country in the Beavers’ run-first system. Martinez went to Miami, but the Spartans have redshirt junior Nate Carter back after a solid 2023 (185 carries, 798 yards, four touchdowns). UMass transfer Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams (236 carries, 1,157 yards, 12 touchdowns) could also factor into the backfield picture.

Michigan State’s offensive line needs to improve for the offense to get rolling this season. Only one starter from last season’s group returns, redshirt senior left tackle Brandon Baldwin. But Oregon State’s offensive line was much better last season — the Beavers boasted the second-best PFF run-blocking grade in the country. Redshirt senior center Tanner Miller followed the staff to MSU and will aim to solidify the line.

Returning production, defense: 75 percent (per Bill Connelly/ESPN) (19th in the country)

Defensive outlook: Smith retained his defensive line coach and secondary coach, but he’ll be working with some new defensive assistants elsewhere — including former IU defensive coordinator Chad Wilt, who will be MSU’s rush ends coach and co-special teams coordinator. Minnesota defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Joe Rossi took the same position in East Lansing this year and will run MSU’s defense. The Gophers typically had a strong defense under Rossi, with finishing top 10 in the country in total defense in three of his five years as defensive coordinator.

The Spartans have a lot of returning defensive production, although they were unspectacular last season. Much of that comes in the secondary, with five of last season’s six main starters back. But MSU had one of the worst PFF grades in the country in coverage last season, so the group has to improve. Junior safety Malik Spencer is a player to watch, after finishing second on MSU in tackles last season.

Redshirt junior linebacker Wayne Matthews III could be a big transfer portal addition from Old Dominion. He forced a team-high three fumbles last season and finished second on the team in tackles (135 total), tackles for loss (9.5), and sacks (3.5). Sophomore linebacker Jordan Hall could be in for a big season — he finished with the best PFF pass-rush grade last season among 2027 draft class linebackers, and recorded 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. MSU’s leading tackler from last season, redshirt senior Cal Haladay, is also returns at linebacker.

Michigan State has more question marks up front on defense, with just one returning starter on defensive line. Redshirt senior Quindarius Dunnigan could be a factor there this year, after leading Middle Tennessee State last season with 10 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior defensive tackle D’Quan Douse transferred in from Georgia Tech with experience and could be key in the middle. IU transfer Anthony Jones may not be guaranteed a big role in a crowded defensive line group, with seven portal pickups in the room.

Special teams outlook: Redshirt senior kicker Jonathan Kim returns after he went 13 for 18 on field-goal attempts last season. He made all 17 of his extra points. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Eckley is also back, coming off a strong year — he averaged 46.8 yards per punt last season, good for second in the Big Ten. Eckley was MSU’s lone All-Big Ten selection last year. Michigan State will have a new long snapper, however, in James Madison transfer Kaden Schickel. Returner Tyrell Henry transferred to Wisconsin, so Foster or redshirt senior receiver Alante Brown could be in line for those duties this season.

Overall Outlook: It took Smith three year to turn Oregon State around, but he got the Beavers rolling in his latter three seasons. He faces a similar rebuilding job in East Lansing, with three losing seasons in the last four for Michigan State. The Spartan roster looks better than it was last season, and they have a potentially viable path to bowl eligibility with their schedule. But they can’t afford many speed bumps, and the floor is lower than the ceiling is high. This could be a potential swing game for Indiana’s season — a win in East Lansing could be the difference between making a bowl game and missing out.

Previous opponent outlooks:

Florida International

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