For a second straight week, Michigan State football came in at No. 7 in the CFP rankings, and just like last week, fans were in full debate mode on social media.
Gary Barta, Iowa’s athletic director and the current playoff committee chair, was asked why the Spartans are still below Michigan despite both owning the same 9-1 record and Michigan State winning the head-to-head matchup.
He kind of echoed the same sentiment as last week, saying that he believed Michigan was the more complete team (AKA the Wolverines have a slightly better defense).
But his explanation this week somehow made less sense.
Rece Davis: Why is Michigan ahead of Michigan State?
— Justin Thind (@JustinThind) November 17, 2021
Gary Barta: "Set aside watching the games..."
That's all you need to know about the College Football Playoff committee & the man that's in charge of it.
So now we “set aside watching the games” to say which teams are better. So if that’s the case, why is Oregon ahead of Ohio State still? If you set aside watching the games and go by just the “more complete team”, the Buckeyes would get the nod there. See how there’s zero consistency here?
It’s starting to truly feel like the committee is just looking for a reason to give Michigan a leg up while not even following their own guidelines with Ohio State and Oregon.
In the end, Michigan State football controls its own destiny
While there are going to be plenty of Michigan State fans upset with being ranked behind Michigan again, it truly doesn’t make sense because if the Spartans win out, they’ll be in the playoff and the Wolverines will not.
Michigan State and Ohio State are the only two teams in the Big Ten that control their own destiny in the playoff race. If the Spartans lose to the Buckeyes, that will no longer be the case obviously.
Don’t fret about the CFP rankings right now, especially since Barta’s reasoning for the No. 7 spot is mind-numbingly inconsistent.