What does the Michigan State football team have to do to make the 2025 College Football Playoffs?

It’s that time of the offseason when expectations are probably at their highest for your favorite college football program. And that got me thinking about the College Football Playoff for Michigan State football.

Before you all call me crazy, no, I don’t expect MSU to make the playoffs this season. But with the new expanded playoffs starting this season, I’ve been thinking about what Michigan State would have to do to make the playoffs.

Gone are the days of having to be perfect to make the playoffs, like in the four-team format. Now that there are 12 teams on the field, MSU has more room to lose a game or two along the way.

However, I still don’t think Michigan State can afford to lose the “easier” games on its schedule. I’m talking opponents like Florida Atlantic, Prairie View A&M, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Rutgers.

Could Michigan State still make the playoffs after losing to one of these teams? Absolutely. But given the level Michigan State is playing at this year, they need to save those losses for the tougher opponents on their schedule.

Back in the days when there were four-team playoffs, the only way to make the playoffs was to win at least 11 regular-season games and then win the conference championship game. Even teams with 11 wins rarely made it without winning their conference.

That’s no longer the case. Teams from power conferences with 11 wins will definitely be there, and teams with 10 wins will most likely be there too. That’s also the advantage MSU has as a Big Ten team, because 10 wins by a Big Ten or SEC team will always look much stronger than the teams in the ACC and Big 12.

For Michigan State to reach 10 wins, the team will have to beat some very good teams. Some of the teams on their schedule, like Iowa, Boston College and Maryland, are not as strong as others but still pose a real challenge. And then there are the big ones: Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan.

Two of those games are also away games, which makes things even more difficult. So out of those six games, the Spartans have to win four to have any chance of making the playoffs.

I know what you’re thinking: This sounds too far-fetched to happen this year. And you’re 100 percent right.

But if the team improves, which is a reasonable assumption under Jonathan Smith, this will be the blueprint that will take the team to the playoffs in the years to come.