Michigan State football: 2025 schedule and key games
Michigan State football’s schedule and key games for the 2025 season.
Michigan State football is looking to improve upon a disappointing 5-7 season in 2024. And if EA Sports College Football 26 is correct, they’ll at least be a little bit better in 2025.
The Spartans have been given an 81 overall rating in EA Sports’ popular college football video game, a little higher than their 80 overall rating from the previous season. That still puts them in the bottom half of Big Ten teams, however, with the Spartans standing ahead of only Minnesota (78 overall), Northwestern (78), UCLA (78) and Maryland (78).
Michigan State has been rated an 82 on offense and 80 on defense, and some standout players on the team’s offensive side may explain the slight discrepancy.
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Here are some of the highest-rated Spartans in College Football 26:
TE Jack Velling (88 overall)
Michigan State’s star tight end is also the team’s highest-rated player in College Football 26. And though his 88 overall ranking wasn’t enough to place him in the top-100 players, it places him as one of the game’s premier tight ends.
Velling started his career at Oregon State as a freshman in 2022 before transferring to Michigan State as a junior in 2024. He set a career high with 36 catches for the Spartans in 2024, reaching 411 yards and adding a touchdown.
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WR Crishon McCray (87 overall)
McCray, a transfer from Kent State, has yet to see game action with the Spartans. But with an 87 overall rating, he’s the highest-rated wide receiver on the team.
The redshirt junior made at least 40 receptions each of the past two seasons with Kent State, scoring a team-high nine touchdowns for the Golden Flashes in 2024 (a mark that would have been the highest for the Spartans, too).
WR Omari Kelly (85 overall)
Another transfer wide receiver (this time from Middle Tennessee State), Omari Kelly provides the second half of a 1-2 receiver punch for the Spartans in College Football 26.
Kelly played his first two seasons from 2022-23 at Auburn, where he recorded five total receptions in limited playing time. He broke out at MTSU in 2024, however, catching 53 passes for 869 yards and four touchdowns over 11 games.
Other notable players
Wide receiver Nick Marsh (84 overall), punter Ryan Eckley (84 overall) and safety Nikai Martinez (84 overall) round out the top six MSU players, according to College Football 26. Starting quarterback Aidan Chiles is an 81.
The team’s three “impact” players are Velling, McCray and Wayne Matthews III, a fifth-year linebacker who played in nine games for the Spartans in 2024.
EA Sports College Football 26 will be released to the public on Thursday, July 10.
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
