College Football News ranks hardest schedules in Big Ten in 2023

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Last season was rough for the Spartans and things won’t get any easier for Michigan State in 2023, according to College Football News.

The college football media service put together rankings of their hardest schedules in 2023, and to no surprise Michigan State was near the top of the list nationally. Somewhat surprising, though, was that the Spartans weren’t at the top of the list despite having matchups against potentially four preseason top 10 teams on their slate.

So where did the Spartans land in the rankings nationally and in comparison to their Big Ten peers? Click here to see the complete national rankings from College Football News and continue reading to see where each Big Ten team landed (ranking easiest to hardest) with my thoughts on their 2023 schedule as well:

Penn State

Big Ten ranking: No. 14 out of 14

National ranking: No. 65 out of 133

My thoughts: Penn State will be sizable favorites in all of their non-conference games, although the opener against West Virginia could be a sneaky tough game. Their crossover games with the Big Ten West Division are manageable as well (at Illinois, Iowa and at Northwestern) so I’m not terribly surprised to see Penn State lowest on this list.

Michigan

Big Ten ranking: No. 13 out of 14

National ranking: No. 61 out of 133

My thoughts: When you’re non-conference schedule includes three home games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green it’s actually surprising the Wolverines aren’t the lowest on this list. Michigan does have a handful of tough road conference games, though, with trips to Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan State, Penn State and Maryland. So that definitely beefs up their slate.

Maryland

Big Ten ranking: No. 12 out of 14

National ranking: No. 58 out of 133

My thoughts: Maryland is notoriously known for playing a rather weak non-conference slate and this year is no different — home games against Towson, Charlotte and Virginia. The Terps should go 3-0 in those games before the schedule gets tougher in…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-news-ranks-hardest-190452175.html?src=rss

Author : Spartans Wire

Publish date : 2023-05-15 19:04:52

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