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College Football Playoff: Week 7 results from a Michigan State perspective

By Thomas Nikundiwe

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Michigan State continues to be in control of its own destiny in the College Football Playoff — just barely.

Must Read: MSU Football: Report card against the Wolverines

Michigan State’s win against the most hyped team of the year should have propelled them up the polls, but the slim margin of victory and the fact that all the teams ranked ahead of them also won meant the Spartans stayed put at No. 7 in the AP.

Unfortunately, perception matters a lot when it comes to the playoff. It came to light this week that if MSU loses to Ohio State and Michigan beats the Buckeyes — assuming all three win the rest of their games — then the Big Ten East division winner will be decided by their playoff ranking.

This scenario would not bode well for MSU as MSU’s late season loss to OSU and their close calls early in the season are bad perception combo.

I guess they’ll just have to beat OSU and take perception out of the equation. There were several Top 25 matchups that will likely have an impact on the playoff scenario; let’s take a look.

The most important result

Oct 17, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans linebacker Ed Davis (43) celebrates his sack in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State 27, um 23: What a way to keep their playoff hopes alive. A loss in this game wouldn’t have doomed the Spartans, but as long as they keep winning they won’t be denied.

Results that help

Oct 17, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Tigers wide receiver Daniel Hurd (83) and Memphis Tigers running back Jamarius Henderson (26) celebrate during the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis Tigers beat Mississippi Rebels 37-24. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Memphis 37, No. 13 Ole Miss 24: MSU wants to see all other contenders from other conferences to have two losses in the case that they lose to Ohio State. And Ole Miss now has two bad losses — this non-conference loss and getting blown out by Florida.

No. 17 Iowa 40, No. 20 Northwestern 10: MSU wants Iowa to keep winning. They are, in effect, two games ahead of Wisconsin — because they beat them head-to-head — and so they will be hard for anyone in the Big Ten West to catch. It’s much better that Iowa eliminates all its opponents and gives MSU a highly ranked foe in the conference title game.

Too early to tell but probably matter results

Oct 15, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) carries the ball in the second quarter against the UCLA Bruins in a NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

No. 15 Stanford 56, No. 18 UCLA 35: Stanford put themselves in position to win the Pac-12 North. UCLA with two losses can play spoiler with matchups against Cal and Utah left.

No. 6 LSU 35, No. 8 Florida 28: Florida had a chance to make a statement, but were brought down to earth a little. The Gators are still in great position to win their division. LSU is in complete control of its playoff destiny. The Tigers still play Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

No. 10 Alabama 41, No. 9 Texas A&M 23: The perception is that Alabama is now in control of its playoff chances, but strangely enough it would lose out to Ole Miss if Ole Miss wins out. Ole Miss’ loss to Memphis would not matter in the SEC West race since Ole Miss won the head-to-head. Would a one-loss Alabama get into the playoff even if they didn’t win the SEC? Perceptions matter.

Results that could have helped and then they didn’t

Oct 17, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; USC Trojans running back Tre Madden (23) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Romeo Okwara (45) in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 41-31. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

No. 14 Notre Dame 41, USC 31: Notre Dame and USC were tied going into the fourth quarter, but the Trojans ended up not being able to help MSU in this case. Notre Dame’s brand keeps it in the mix for a playoff spot. The Fighting Irish still have to beat surprisingly good teams in Temple and Pitt and end the season at Stanford.

No. 4 Utah 34, Arizona St 18: The final score doesn’t make it seem like this was a close game, but Arizona State was leading going into the fourth quarter. Utah losing would help MSU — it has tough games against USC, Arizona and UCLA left.

Results that hurt

While there were no games that truly hurt MSU, some of these games that could have helped and then didn’t will start hurting as the season progresses.

Key games this weekend

Next: MSU Football: Top 7 plays of the season so far

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