We are still months away from the opening kickoff, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to the 2023 season.

As part of that process, Bill Connelly of ESPN has released his first batch of SP+ projections and rankings for the 2023 season. Connelly’s SP+ rankings are “a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year.”

So where does the data think Michigan State will finish in the Big Ten next year? Let’s take a look at where each Big Ten team is ranked in the league and nationally in the initial SP+ rankings.

Northwestern

Big Ten ranking: No. 14

National ranking: No. 89

Rutgers

Big Ten ranking: No. 13

National ranking: No. 83

Indiana

Big Ten ranking: No. 12

National ranking: No. 64

Purdue

Big Ten ranking: No. 11

National ranking: No. 49

Nebraska

Big Ten ranking: No. 10

National ranking: No. 48

Michigan State

Big Ten ranking: No. 9

National ranking: No. 47

Illinois

Big Ten ranking: No. 8

National ranking: No. 44

Maryland

Big Ten ranking: No. 7

National ranking: No. 41

Minnesota

Big Ten ranking: No. 6

National ranking: No. 30

Iowa

Big Ten ranking: No. 5

National ranking: No. 27

Wisconsin

Big Ten ranking: No. 4

National ranking: No. 25

Penn State

Big Ten ranking: No. 3

National ranking: No. 5

Michigan

Big Ten ranking: No. 2

National ranking: No. 3

Ohio State

Big Ten ranking: No. 1

National ranking: No. 2

Complete rankings

Click on the tweet below to see the complete rankings from Connelly:

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Story originally appeared on Spartans Wire