Big Ten releases Michigan State’s 2023 Conference Football Schedule

The Big Ten Conference has officially released the 2023 conference football schedule. As previously discussed on The Only Colors, the 2020 changes made to host venues in certain matchups during the shortened COVID-19 season required future adjustments to schedules to improve ticket sales for programs like Michigan State.

The 2023 schedule will see the Big Ten maintain a divisional breakdown it has had in place based on geography since the start of the 2014 football season. Michigan State will face Iowa and Minnesota on the road and Nebraska at home from the West Division as originally released, while playing all six fellow East Division opponents. The non-conference schedule as previously released is not impacted, but the league games are in a different order.

However, this update will be a one off format that will bid farewell to the Big Ten East and Big Ten West divisional alignments in its 10th and final season. The East has won all eight championship games thus far and going into the 2022 season held a 77-70 advantage in regular-season matchups. Thus far in 2022, the East has won nine of 13 matchups.

Per reporting by The Athletic, based on sources they have, the Big Ten is considering implementing a format that does not contain divisions once it expands in 2024. However, the exact nature of that arrangement is still being sorted out. The new format will most likely not split teams into two divisions based entirely on geography like the current East/West does.

Sticking points remain between members of the Big Ten who have numerous traditional rivals and those that do not. Multi-program series such as Iowa-Wisconsin-Minnesota want such matchups to continue annually. Meanwhile, newer members such as Penn State and Maryland, which lack such natural rivalries, tend to prefer fewer hurdles for scheduling more even rotation of opponents.

Regardless, the addition of UCLA and USC in 2024 render the future league schedules originally released by the Big Ten no longer relevant as the conference moves to a 16-team format, which may or may not include divisions.

The full 2023 Michigan State schedule is as follows, with the original schedule noted in the far right column for comparison’s sake:

Currently, Michigan State has non-conference games on the schedule through the next decade. The furthest out matchup on the schedule will be a visit to future Big 12 member BYU on Sept. 11, 2032 as a makeup game for the canceled 2020 visit by the Spartans. BYU visited Spartan Stadium in 2016 as part of a home-and-home series that saw the Cougars win 31-14 in the lone meeting between the programs.

Other notable non-conference games between now and then include home-and-home series with Boston College (2024-2025) and Oregon (2029-2030), while an agreement is in place with dates still needing agreed to for a series with Notre Dame (2026-2027).

The full 2023 Big Ten schedule league wide can be found in the Big Ten graphic below. Future Michigan State schedules in 2023 and beyond can be found below that.

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Updated 2023 Schedule

• Sept. 2 - Central Michigan Chippewas
• Sept. 9 - Richmond Spiders
• Sept. 16 - Washington Huskies
• Sept. 23 - Maryland Terrapins
• Sept. 30 - at Iowa Hawkeyes
• Oct. 7 - Bye
• Oct. 14 - at Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Oct. 21 - Michigan Wolverines
• Oct. 28 - at Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Nov. 4 - Nebraska Cornhuskers
• Nov. 11 - at Ohio State Buckeyes
• Nov. 18 - at Indiana Hoosiers
• Nov. 25 - Penn State Nittany Lions

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2024 Schedule as originally published, but no longer in effect for Big Ten portion

• Aug. 31 - Florida Atlantic Owls
• Sept. 7 - TBA/Bye Week
• Sept. 14 - Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
• Sept. 21 - at Boston College Eagles
• Sept. 28 - at Maryland Terrapins
• Oct. 5 - Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Oct. 12 - Northwestern Wildcats (Homecoming)
• Oct. 19 - at Indiana Hoosiers
• Oct. 26 - at Purdue Boilermakers
• Nov. 2 - Michigan Wolverines
• Nov. 9 - Bye week
• Nov. 16 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Nov. 23 - Ohio State Buckeyes
• Nov. 30 - Penn State Nittany Lions

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2025 Schedule as currently published, but no longer in effect for Big Ten portion

• Aug. 30 - Western Michigan Broncos
• Sept. 6 - Youngstown State Penguins
• Sept. 13 - Bye week
• Sept. 20 - Boston College Eagles
• Sept. 27 - at Minnesota Golden Gophers
• Oct. 4 - Bye week
• Oct. 11 - at Michigan Wolverines
• Oct. 18 - Indiana Hoosiers
• Oct. 25 - at Wisconsin Badgers
• Nov. 1 - Maryland Terrapins
• Nov. 8 - Illinois Fighting Illini
• Nov. 15 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• Nov. 22 - at Ohio State Buckeyes
• Nov. 29 - Penn State Nittany Lions

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2026 Schedule as currently published

• Sept. 5 - Toledo Rockets
• Sept. 12 - Eastern Michigan Eagles
• TBA - at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (series contract is in agreement only at this time with no formal date set)

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2027 Schedule as currently published

• Sept. 11 - Central Michigan Chippewas
• TBA - Notre Dame Fighting Irish (series contract is in agreement only at this time with no formal date set)

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2029 Schedule as currently published

• Sept. 8 - Oregon Ducks

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2030 Schedule as currently published

• Aug. 31 - Central Michigan Chippewas
• Sept. 7 - at Oregon Ducks

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2032 Schedule as currently published

• Sept. 11 - at BYU Cougars