Michigan State Football: How high will Spartans rise in playoff poll?
Michigan State football is going to see a huge jump in the next College Football Playoff poll.
For the first time in a few weeks, Michigan State football fans are finally excited to see where the Spartans will land in the third edition of the College Football Playoff poll.
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In the first installment, the Spartans were ranked just No. 7 and then proceeded to lose to a 3-6 Nebraska team the week after. The committee looked relatively smart for not making Michigan State higher, but everything seems to be falling in its place for the Spartans to make a huge leap back into the playoff convo.
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After that loss to the Cornhuskers, all hope for a playoff run seemed to be lost as Michigan State dropped to No. 13 and it would take a miracle for the Spartans to get all the way up to No. 4 with the season just weeks from being over.
Luckily for this team, it controlled its own destiny.
We are still a couple of weeks away from the real deal final playoff rankings that will decide who goes to the College Football Playoff and who has to settle for a New Year’s Six bowl.
That makes us wonder, though, where do the Spartans stand after this huge road win against No. 3-ranked Ohio State on Saturday?
I’m going to do my best to give this one an educated guess.
Beating Ohio State means that the Spartans will likely jump the Buckeyes in the next poll — and if they don’t, then that’s just not right. Also, the three teams ahead of them could give way to MSU as well.
Nov 21, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan State Spartans quarterback Tyler O
It took overtime for the No. 8 Florida Gators to beat Florida Atlantic at home — the Gators might just be the most overrated team in the country. No. 7 Oklahoma struggled against an absolutely depleted TCU team which was using its third-string quarterback by the end of the game and had a chance to win it, but failed on the go-ahead two-point conversion.
No. 6 Oklahoma State was absolutely crushed on their home turf against No. 10 Baylor. I could see the Bears jumping the Spartans on any other week, but a road win against Ohio State is just as, if not more, impressive than one at Oklahoma State.
This last one might not end up meaning anything in the Spartans’ overall case, but it most definitely should: No. 4 Notre Dame struggled mightily against a 3-8 Boston College team. One could argue that the Fighting Irish turned the ball over five times and still found a way to win, but I’d counter that with, ‘Why are the Irish turning the ball over five times against a 3-8 team?’
A close victory for the Fighting Irish against a poor team might actually drop them, but not far enough to where the Spartans could jump ahead.
In a perfect scenario, Michigan State would leap Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame to sit at No. 5 in the next poll, but it will more than likely be the Spartans at No. 6.
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All that matters right now is a win against Penn State at home in week 13 and a victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten title game in two weeks. Winning out would almost surely mean a College Football Playoff berth and a shot for Mark Dantonio to win his first title.
Here’s my top-six prediction for this week’s College Football Playoff poll that comes out Tuesday:
- Clemson Tigers (11-0)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1)
- Michigan State Spartans (10-1)
- Oklahoma Sooners (10-1)