National writer predicts Spartans to reach bowl game in 2026

One national writer believes Michigan State will finally get back to a bowl game this season.

Spring practice has started to wrap up for many programs across the college football landscape, including the Spartans who held their "Spring Showcase" event last weekend. With spring practice coming to an end, many have started to already look ahead to the fall and the 2026 season -- including Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports. He released a story outlining one bold prediction for every Big Ten team this upcoming season, and his thoughts towards the Spartans were positive.

Fornelli stated his bold prediction for Michigan State football in 2026 is that the Spartans will return to the postseason. No, Fornelli isn't expecting Michigan State to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but rather is predicting the Spartans to reach their first bowl game in five years.

Here's what Fornelli had to say about the Spartans in his bold predictions story:

"Former Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker signed a big deal with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason after winning Super Bowl MVP. He has played four full seasons in the NFL. I bring this up because Walker might not have played in the 2021 Peach Bowl, but Michigan State wouldn't have been there without him. That Peach Bowl was the last bowl game the Spartans played in. It's been a miserable four years since, but Pat Fitzgerald gets Sparty back to the postseason in his first year in charge."

As you should know by now, Fitzgerald is taking over a Spartans program that has finished below .500 each of the last four seasons. As Fornelli wrote, Michigan State last played in a bowl game in 2021, which feels like an entirety ago now.

For me, reaching a bowl game should be the expectation for Michigan State this upcoming season. But the recent struggles make it clear that is not a given with the Spartans and certainly fair game to peg this as a bold prediction by Fornelli.