Michigan State football jumps to No. 11 in latest CFP rankings

Michigan State football finishes the regular season with the No. 11 spot in the CFP rankings. What does this mean for NY6 aspirations?

Michigan State football closed the 2021 regular season with a 30-27 snowy win over Penn State in East Lansing and it marked the 10th victory for the Spartans and second-year head coach Mel Tucker.

The win also sewed up the Big Ten Coach of the Year award for Tucker. He went from 2-5 last year and projected to finish last in the Big Ten East to 10-2 this season and third in the division with also the third-best record in the entire conference. Plus, he’s likely to make a New Year’s Six bowl if all goes as planned.

But after seeing the latest CFP rankings on Tuesday evening, it’s pretty clear that Michigan State is going to need some help from Michigan in the Big Ten title game.

If Michigan beats Iowa, the Spartans will make the New Year’s Six for sure. They’ll likely be in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame which would be one of the most-watched games of bowl season.

Michigan State moved up a spot to No. 11 in the latest playoff rankings while Ohio State fell to No. 7 as the top-ranked team from the Big Ten outside of the playoff field and Michigan is No. 2, jumping Alabama. If Michigan wins, it’ll remain in the playoff and Ohio State would make the Rose Bowl and Michigan State would be in the Fiesta Bowl.

If Iowa wins, it would likely knock the Spartans out of New Year’s Six contention.

What bowls could Michigan State football make?

It’s looking like it’s down to three bowl possibilities for the Spartans and unfortunately, one of those does not include the Rose Bowl.

While all fans would love to see the Spartans in the Rose Bowl again for the first time since 2013, they have no chance of being ranked ahead of Ohio State next week as the top Big Ten team outside of the playoff. If Michigan State makes a New Year’s Six bowl, it’s going to be the Fiesta Bowl.

So it’s either the Fiesta Bowl, Outback Bowl, or Citrus Bowl.

Can’t be too upset with any of those as a New Year’s Day bowl in a warm place is much better than a Dec. 27 bowl in New York. This is an infinitely better position to be in than 2019’s Pinstripe Bowl or 2018’s Redbox Bowl.