The annual Cleveland.com preseason Big Ten poll was released on Monday, and the voters are not high on Michigan State for the 2024 season. The Spartans were picked to finish 16th in the now 18-team Big Ten conference with 119 points, finishing ahead of just Indiana (17th) and Purdue (18th).

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State was picked to win the conference title in 2024, receiving 21 out of the 27 total votes for first place and 480 total points. Oregon received the other six first-place votes and finished second. Penn State was picked third, Michigan was picked fourth and Iowa was picked fifth.

Here is how the scoring works and other info about the poll:

"Each writer was asked to vote 1-18, with first-place votes worth 18 points, second-place votes worth 17 and so on.

"Cleveland.com picked up the responsibility for organizing the poll when the Big Ten dropped it 14 years ago. Beat writers from all 14 Big Ten teams were invited to participate, as were some who cover the entire league or have a national perspective."

Personally, I am not expecting MSU to compete for anything meaningful in 2024, but I would be surprised if the Spartans finish as the third-worst team in the conference this year. What are your thoughts?

Kelley Ford has released his version two projected Big Ten standings.

Michigan State, according to his numbers, is in last place with 2.6 projected Big Ten wins. Not too far ahead of MSU is Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue. Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State are the top three.

Keep in mind that these numbers are sometimes wrong. Also, it is difficult to get an accurate read on teams in the transfer portal era.

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Another interesting post here from Ford. According to his numbers, Michigan State needs 10 wins to be in the at-large discussion for a College Football Playoff berth.

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Apparently he couldn't find the means to answer any questions the NCAA had of him because he was too busy spilling all of his details to a streaming contract.

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Many members of the Spartans Illustrated staff, including @DavidHarns, @Brendanmoore101, @Kevin Knight, @JD_Jerbear, @Caden Handwork, @luccamazzie and me, take a look across multiple Michigan State sports and provide the top-30 incoming athletes (freshmen and transfers) we're most excited about with blurbs about each.

From Aidan Chiles on the gridiron to Mitchell Sheldon on the tennis courts and everything in between, here is an in-depth look at the incoming athletes.

Obviously, we did our best to include as many sports as possible, so even though there were other football and men's basketball players we certainly could have included, we wanted to make sure that several MSU athletic teams were included.

Which athletes are you most excited to watch during the 2024-2025 season? Please let us know.

Find the full list here:

I was on This Is Sparta tonight with Jason Strayhorn and Sedrick Irvin.

We mainly discussed our list of the top 30 incoming MSU athletes (CLICK HERE)

Here is the link to the This Is Sparta episode:

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Super tennis recruit Matt Forbes has signed with MSU after decommiting from North Carolina.

"After decommitting from North Carolina, blue-chip recruit Matt Forbes (UTR 12.64 / #6 in class of 2024 / #2 in NC
@TennisRecNet) has signed with @MSU_MTennis following a @RedRobinBurgersdinner with the head coach @HarryJadun
. The 18-yo has an ITF juniors career-high ranking of #34."

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I was on Locked On Spartans last night. Matt Sheehan and I discussed Big Ten Media Days, our reactions to Michigan State at No. 16 in the Big Ten Preseason Poll and more.

The ladder match. An iconic stipulation that makes pro wrestling so unique, so brutal, so breathtaking and so beautiful all at the same time. It’s a match where stars are born. It’s a match where careers are defined. It’s a match where history is made.

Kelani Jordan, as she’s known in the wrestling world, was just the latest to capitalize on the prestige of the ladder match.

Jordan is part of WWE’s NXT brand, which debuted in 2010. Jordan was one of six women that competed in the ladder match to crown the inaugural NXT Women’s North American Champion at the "NXT Battleground" event 2024.

Over 10 minutes into the match, Jordan was in the ring alone with Michin. The other four women were on the outside of the ring, fatigued and worn down from the punishment endured throughout the match. Jordan had an opportune time to win the title. She took down Michin with a knee and then hit her signature split-legged moonsault in the corner.

Jordan raced up the ladder, all alone in the ring. She grabbed the title belt hung high above the ring and lifted it up in celebration. She became the first ever NXT Women’s North American Champion.

“It was exhilarating,” she told Spartans Illustrated. “It’s surreal. I think sometimes I’m still in awe about being the first ever women’s North American champion because being the first is something that no one can ever take away from me.”

More on Lea Mitchell, as she's known outside the ring, and her journey from MSU gymnastics to the squared circle:

The former Spartan has found a new home.

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What will Michigan State's uniforms look like under new coach Jonathan Smith?

Spartans Illustrated guest writer MSU Uniforms takes a look at Oregon State's uniforms and how that might give insight into what Michigan State will wear:

First year Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith will have his press conference at 2024 Big Ten Football Media Days on Wednesday at noon ET.

It will air live on Big Ten Network.

The full schedule of press conferences for all 18 head coaches can be found below.

Via FOIA, I have obtained a copy of the contract between Michigan State University and Notre Dame for the home-and-home football games scheduled for 2026 and 2027.

The dates of the games:
Sept. 19, 2026: MSU at Notre Dame
Sept. 18, 2027: Notre Dame at MSU

Here are a few notes from the contract that might be interesting:

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The Michigan State tight ends room arguably has the most talent from top to bottom that we’ve seen in a while in East Lansing, and that bodes well for young quarterback Aidan Chiles in a new setting.

Along with newcomer, Jack Velling, the depth at the position should be on display this year. Brennan Parachek saw time on the field last season as a freshman and will likely see a heightened role in 2024, if healthy. Michael Masunas, Tyneil Hopper and Ademola Faleye will all look to compete for playing time as well, and several freshmen join the fold.

More here:

Newcomers to the 2024-25 team include freshman defensemen Owen West, junior forward Charlie Stramel (Wisconsin transfer), freshman defenseman Vladislav Lukashevich, freshman forward Kaden Nelson, freshman forward Mikey DeAngelo, freshman forward Shane Vansaghi, freshman forward Nathan Mackie, grad defenseman Nicklas Andrews (Colorado College transfer) and junior goaltender Dolan Gilbert (Concordia transfer).

Official roster has been posted at the link below:

A look at how Heath Baldwin is preparing for the Olympics.

Plus, what are his medal chances in Paris?

Dellenger’s story on the historic settlement that will result in as much as $15 billion in rev-sharing over the next 10 years:

According to sources that spoke with Action Network's Brett McMurphy, neither the Big Ten nor the SEC want Florida State if it were to leave the ACC and the ACC doesn't dissolve like the Pac-12 did. Both conferences view FSU as a disruptive partner and see no financial gain to the leagues in adding the Seminoles.

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Anybody interested in a meet up in the fall in Boston? The night before the MSU football game, I am considering going to Fenway Park.

Former Michigan State and Northern Illinois QB Rocky Lombardi has been drafted by the Michigan Panthers in the 2024 UFL College Draft.

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I wrote this one for the national site, but plenty of Michigan State content included, so I wanted to share here as well.

Class of 2026 three-star outside linebacker Daiveon Taylor has been committed to West Virginia since April and is solid with the Mountaineers, but other schools have been getting involved with him as of late, including MSU.

The Spartans have not offered Taylor yet, but he is planning to get to East Lansing for a game or two this fall, and it would not be surprising if a scholarship offer came at that time.

Michigan State likes him as a defensive end or perhaps he could be an ideal rush end candidate.

More here:

Bill Simonson and Chris Balas were having fun and went through the UM schedule. They concluded that after Arkansas State,
MSU would be the easiest football team to play on the UM schedule.

Stay tuned. LOL