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Michigan State football picked 4th in Big Ten East preseason media poll

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 29: Michigan State Spartans head football coach Mark Dantonio watches the action during the first quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium on October 29, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - OCTOBER 29: Michigan State Spartans head football coach Mark Dantonio watches the action during the first quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Spartan Stadium on October 29, 2016 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State football was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten East according to cleveland.com’s unofficial preseason media poll.

Big Ten Media Days are approaching and it’s a time for speculation and previewing the upcoming season. For Michigan State football, it’s about putting the nightmare of 2016 behind it and moving forward as a program.

Must Read: MSU Football: 5 reasons Spartans will turn things around in 2017

Will media members buy into the turnaround talk or will the Spartans still be considered one of the weaker teams in the conference?

According to 247Sports‘ Jeremy Warnemuende, the Big Ten doesn’t have official preseason media polls like other conferences, leaving media platforms to create their own.

On Friday, cleveland.com released its own preseason media poll, projecting the order of finish for the conference. As you can imagine, an Ohio-based website picked the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the conference, followed by Penn State and then Michigan. The Spartans, however, were listed as the fourth-place finisher in the East.

Behind Michigan State, according to the poll, was Indiana (5th), Maryland (6th) and Rutgers (7th). Even though the Spartans lost to both Indiana and Maryland, on the road, last season, there’s respect for Mark Dantonio to turn things around and finish with the rest of the division powers.

However, can the Spartans somehow pull off a few upsets and crack the division’s top three? It won’t be easy, but with Michigan losing so much talent and Penn State being forced to prove it wasn’t a one-season wonder under James Franklin, it’s possible.

Next: MSU Recruiting: 5 bold predictions for July

The Spartans will open the season with Bowling Green on Sept. 2 in East Lansing which will be Brian Lewerke’s first chance to show he can be the quarterback of the future.

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