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2025 Michigan State

4–⁠8 (1–⁠8 Big Ten), coached by Jonathan Smith.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2025, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 23–6; won vs. Boston College 42–40; won vs. Youngstown State 41–24; lost at No. 25 USC 31–45; lost at Nebraska 27–38; lost vs. UCLA 13–38; lost at No. 3 Indiana 13–38; lost vs. No. 25 Michigan 20–31; lost at Minnesota 20–23; lost vs. Penn State 10–28; lost at Iowa 17–20; won vs. Maryland 38–28+17−25Won 23–6 vs. Western Michigan+17Western MichiganWon 42–40 vs. Boston College+2Boston CollegeWon 41–24 vs. Youngstown State+17Youngstown StateLost 31–45 at No. 25 USC-14No. 25 USCLost 27–38 at Nebraska-11NebraskaLost 13–38 vs. UCLA-25UCLALost 13–38 at No. 3 Indiana-25No. 3 IndianaLost 20–31 vs. No. 25 Michigan-11No. 25 MichiganLost 20–23 at Minnesota-3MinnesotaLost 10–28 vs. Penn State-18Penn StateLost 17–20 at Iowa-3IowaWon 38–28 vs. Maryland+10Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsWestern MichiganW 23–⁠659%
Sep 6vsBoston CollegeW 42–⁠4051%
Sep 13vsYoungstown StateW 41–⁠2478%
Sep 20at25USCL 31–⁠4526%
Oct 4atNebraskaL 27–⁠3835%
Oct 11vsUCLAL 13–⁠3862%
Oct 18at3IndianaL 13–⁠3812%
Oct 25vs25MichiganL 20–⁠3126%
Nov 1atMinnesotaL 20–⁠2322%
Nov 15vsPenn StateL 10–⁠2828%
Nov 22atIowaL 17–⁠2014%
Nov 29vsMarylandW 38–⁠2842%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Maryland 38–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 16th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 103rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
1–⁠8 tied for 16th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
295–⁠359
Coach
Jonathan Smith
Elo
1412 −41 this season
SP+ rating
-3.4 No. 82 of 136; offense No. 70, defense No. 81, special teams No. 103
SRS
−0.3 No. 70 of 136 in FBS
Returning
66% of last season’s EPA, No. 15 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 38 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Lindgren
Defensive coordinator
Joe Rossi
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense94th of 136
  • Defense89th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0341%1.1894th of 136
Defense0.1545%1.1889th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.11 def		42% off
43% def		—73rd off
77th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense46%8.1 yds10%2.8022%
Defense47%8.4 yds11%3.1013%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 2718% allowed
Defense3.9own 3114% caused

CORE rating -11.0, 100th of 136 (offense -6.0, defense 5.1).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsAidan Chiles QB1,392 yds
Passing touchdownsAidan Chiles QB10 TD
Rushing yardsMakhi Frazier RB520 yds
Rushing touchdownsAidan Chiles QB6 TD
Receiving yardsNick Marsh WR662 yds
Receiving touchdownsNick Marsh WR6 TD
TacklesJordan Hall LB88 tkl
SacksJalen Thompson DL2.5 sacks
InterceptionsArmorion Smith S1 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Derrick Simmons DL★★★★No. 377
DeJae White LB★★★No. 487
Jace Clarizio RB★★★No. 487
Aydan West CB★★★No. 744
Deuce Edwards S★★★No. 750

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.871
Running backs42.80.839
Receivers33.00.866
Offensive line33.00.862
Defensive line23.50.878
Linebackers23.00.880
Defensive backs43.00.871
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class203.00.860

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2026

The 2026 draft
Rd 6Matt Gulbin CWashington Commanders
Rd 6Ryan Eckley PBaltimore Ravens

Roster 120

The 2025 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 23

The 2025 portal
Conner Moore OT★★★★from Montana State
Omari Kelly WR★★★from Middle Tennessee
Anelu Lafaele DE★★★from Wisconsin
David Santiago DE★★★from Air Force
Elijah Tau-Tolliver RB★★★from Sacramento State
Joshua Eaton CB★★★from Texas State
Anthony Pinnace III CB★★★from UTSA
Chrishon McCray WR★★★from Kent State
Grady Kelly DL★★★from Florida State
Malcolm Bell CB★★★from UConn
Matt Gulbin OL★★★from Wake Forest
NiJhay Burt CB★★★from Eastern Illinois

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 23

Charles Brantley CB★★★★to Miami
Aziah Johnson WR★★★to North Carolina
Anthony Jones DE★★★to UCLA
Antonio Gates Jr. WR★★★to Delaware State
Dillon Tatum S★★★to Northwestern
Jaron Glover WR★★★to Mississippi State
Jaelen Smith WR★★★to UTSA
Jaylan Brown WR★★★to UTEP
Aaron Alexander LB★★★to Arkansas State
Austin Clay WR★★★to Bowling Green
James Schott DE★★★to Miami (OH)
Ademola Faleye TE★★★to Washington State

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 2025 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2025 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana9–⁠016–⁠01
Ohio State9–⁠012–⁠25
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠24
Michigan7–⁠29–⁠421
USC7–⁠29–⁠420
Iowa6–⁠39–⁠417
Illinois5–⁠49–⁠4
Washington5–⁠49–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠48–⁠5
Nebraska4–⁠57–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠57–⁠6
Penn State3–⁠67–⁠6
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠7
Wisconsin2–⁠74–⁠8
Michigan State1–⁠84–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠84–⁠8
Purdue0–⁠92–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.