It might be far too early for this, but who cares? A gross overreaction after a Week 1 victory at Northwestern is clearly warranted. Where does Michigan State football rank after this win? Let’s explore the Big Ten map.
It wouldn’t be a Big Ten power ranking if Ohio State was not No. 1, but let’s also assume that Wisconsin (who only lost to Penn State), Penn State, and Iowa are at the very top of the conference.
That would put Michigan State at least behind those guys, and outside of the top four — which is clearly not surprising.
At Nos. 5-6, you could easily place one of the following: Rutgers, possibly Michigan, and Maryland (which I’m not sure I would ever say). Assuming Indiana or one of the previously mentioned takes the other spot, it would put Michigan State directly in the middle of the conference.
This is big for Mel Tucker and Michigan State football
Tucker is excelling at designing this team in the transfer portal, showing prospects and transfers that you can come to Michigan State and succeed (such as Kenneth Walker), and finding a quarterback that seems like the answer.
In 2018, if you told me the Spartans would be this far after Dantonio, I’d have laughed in your face. But it’s real and it’s happening.
Big Ten power rankings are open to interpretation and it’s hard to lay out a direct number, but Michigan State might fall anywhere from No. 6 to No. 8 in the conference, which is fine. Without Ronnie Bell, the Spartans may find themselves a better team than Michigan, but the two schools could very well be equal without Michigan’s best offensive player.
It’s still huge for optimism, and the Spartans’ defense looks a tad worrisome, but a 6-6 (or better) team would be massive for this team and for the program’s future.