Michigan State football makes biggest one-week rankings jump in playoff history
Michigan State football has moved up 12 spots in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, breaking the record.
If you saw Michigan State football ranked No. 12 at this point in the season when the year began, go pick some lottery numbers while you’re at it. Just about everyone predicted 5-7 total wins for Michigan State in 2017, but the Spartans have already matched the high end of that.
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The Spartans have won seven of their first nine games, going 7-2 through the first week of November and 5-1 in the Big Ten. They’re also coming off their biggest win of the season, beating No. 7 Penn State in East Lansing, 27-24, thanks to a last-second field goal by Matt Coghlin.
Michigan State was ranked No. 24 in the first playoff rankings in Week 10 and took a major jump in Week 11. In fact, it was the biggest one-week jump in the history of the playoff rankings, according to ESPN Stats and Info
Michigan State's 12-spot jump from No. 24 to No. 12 is the biggest 1-week jump in the 4-year history of the #CFBPlayoff rankings.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 8, 2017
Previous high was an 8-spot jump, done 3 times.
Not only is it the biggest jump, but the next largest was three less spots. That just shows that Mark Dantonio and the Spartans are finally getting respect. Two wins over AP top 10 teams shouldn’t go unnoticed, and the playoff committed rewarded Michigan State fairly.
Next: MSU Football: Report card for win over Penn State
The Spartans are now No. 12 in the poll, ranked the second-highest of any team in the Big Ten which would have been unfathomable at the start of the year. Coming off a 3-9 campaign, this is Dantonio’s best coaching job yet.