Michigan State Ranked No. 18 in Preseason Associated Press Poll

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

Michigan State Ranked No. 18 in Preseason Associated Press Poll

8/21/2019 10:57:00 AM | Football

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State enters the 13th season of the head coach Mark Dantonio era in 2019 ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press Preseason Poll.

Since 1950, Michigan State has appeared in the Preseason AP Poll on 32 occasions, including seven times under Dantonio (No. 17 in 2011, No. 13 in 2012, No. 8 in 2014, No. 5 in 2015, No. 12 in 2016, No. 11 in 2018, No. 18 in 2019).

Four of MSU's 2019 opponents are ranked in the AP Preseason Poll: No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 15 Penn State and No. 19 Wisconsin.

Michigan State returns 21 starters on offense, defense and special teams, tied for most in the nation, and 50 letterwinners overall return in 2019.

The Spartans were ranked No. 20 in the Preseason Amway Coaches Poll.

The MSU football team opens the 2019 season against Tulsa on Friday, Aug. 30 in Spartan Stadium at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on FS1.