Michigan State Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2015 season

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Jan 24, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus with college football playoff trophy at Ohio Stadium for the national championship celebration. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

1. MSU will make playoff despite losing to OSU

Everyone has already concluded that there will be just one College Football Playoff team from the Big Ten this season: Ohio State. While the Buckeyes, in my eyes, are a lock to make it back to the final four, I think the Spartans will be right there with them.

Related: Top 5 Heisman contenders of the Mark Dantonio era

You might be asking how that’s even possible if the two play each other late in the season, but it’s far from unattainable.

Michigan State will lose to the Buckeyes in Columbus on Nov. 21, but the playoff hopes will be far from dashed. Many contests between top teams will be happening on Nov. 21, or later, so even if the Spartans were in the top four at the time of the loss, they could be helped out by losses below them as well.

Also, if Michigan State can beat Oregon by double-digits, as I predicted earlier, and put a good beating on the rest of the team on the schedule, there can be no way the playoff committee overlooks an 11-1 MSU team when choosing a final four.

The Big Ten will surprise some folks this year, sending two teams to the playoff while the SEC will send one — just because all the teams will beat up on each other — and the Big 12 will have the other.

Next: Top 10 players of the Mark Dantonio era