EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis announced Wednesday, Oct. 20 that the Spartans have signed a contract for a home-and-home series with Miami (Fla.). The Spartans will kick off the two-game series with Miami on Sept. 26, 2020, in East Lansing, Mich., and make their first-ever appearance in the 74,916-seat Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Sept. 18, 2021.
In April 2009, Michigan State announced home-and-home series with West Virginia (2014-15) and Alabama (2016-17) as well as the extension of its series with Notre Dame through the 2031 season, with two-year breaks in 2014-15, 2020-21 and 2026-27.
"To be the best, you have to play against the best, and over the last 30 years, Miami has been one of the marquee names in college football," Hollis said. "With the second two-year break in the Notre Dame series, it created this opportunity to schedule a home-and-home with a program like Miami that certainly has great national appeal.
"With teams like Notre Dame, West Virginia, Alabama and Miami on our future schedules, you'll be hard-pressed to find a team in the country that will play a tougher non-conference slate. Our fans can look forward to a lot of special Saturdays in Spartan Stadium, as we bring the top programs in college football to our state."
The Hurricanes lead the all-time series against Michigan State, 4-0, but the two teams haven't met since the 1989 season. Michigan State has compiled an 11-16-2 record (.414) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (1-4-1 vs. Boston College, 0-2 vs. Florida State, 0-3 vs. Georgia Tech, 4-1 vs. Maryland, 0-4 vs. Miami, 2-1 vs. North Carolina and 4-1-1 vs. N.C. State).
Well, it's 10 years away, but this should be fun. Of course, scheduling this far in advance means that things aren't necessarily set in stone; you may remember that MSU was set for a mid-decade home-and-home with Texas A&M, and that was canceled.
But, we have a succession of interesting non-conference opponents lined up in the coming years, so no complaints here. Besides, by 2021 I'll be old enough to actually feel at home in Miami.