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Michigan State Football: Spartans break into AP Poll at No. 21 in Week 7

By Connor Muldowney

ANN ARBOR, MI - OCTOBER 07: Madre London #28 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after scoring with teammate Luke Campbell #62 during the second quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - OCTOBER 07: Madre London #28 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates after scoring with teammate Luke Campbell #62 during the second quarter of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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For the first time on the season, Michigan State football broke into the AP Top 25 following a victory over Michigan in Week 6.

Don’t ever count out a Michigan State football team coached by Mark Dantonio. The Spartans were coming off their worst season in decades in 2016, but Dantonio vowed to make the necessary fixed to get the program back to where it needed to be.

Must Read: Michigan State shows toughness, grit in win over No. 7 Michigan

After a disastrous offseason, no one saw this Michigan State team competing for Big Ten titles any time soon. However, all of the doubt was silenced on Saturday night as the Spartans marched into Ann Arbor and came away with a 14-10 win over No. 7 Michigan.

The victory was about as surprising as any in the rivalry and it shot the Spartans up the rankings to No. 21 in the latest AP Poll. It was quite the leap seeing as the Spartans were barely getting votes in the polls just last week.

However, any time you can go on the road to upset your top rival and the No. 1 defensive unit in college football, it says a lot about the mental toughness and grit of your team. Dantonio’s squad is young, but the youth is proving to be tough mentally.

For the first time since a loss to Indiana early last season, Michigan State is ranked and it could build on this with a victory over Minnesota on the road in Week 7. The Spartans look great on defense, but the offense could use some tweaks.

Next: MSU Football: 5 bold predictions vs. Michigan

Michigan State is now 4-1 on the season, surpassing its win total from 2016, and 2-0 in Big Ten action. Well-deserved.

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