LOOK: Michigan enters College Football Playoff rankings; MSU stumbles

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You asked for it, Nation. You got it. Chaos ensued this past weekend in college football as four top-10 teams lost; nine total teams that were ranked in last week’s top 25. Among those were No. 12 Michigan State, who was flat out embarrassed against No. 13 Ohio State in Columbus.

And as punishment, MSU took a big tumble in the latest AP Top 25.

The DSN staff recently collaborated to project what this week’s new unfolding of the top 25, with plenty of change expected to occur near the top of the polls. Turns out, our projections were nearly spot on.

https://twitter.com/CFBPlayoff/status/930626199176478721

Michigan (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) joins the top 25 for the first time in the third installment of the playoff rankings. The Wolverines turned in a third straight win of at least 20 points on Saturday against Maryland. Nobody is happier to see a number next to Michigan than the undefeated Wisconsin Badgers, who are looking for every chance to improve their resume.

Michigan travels to Madison for a noon tilt this Saturday (11/18) in a battle between two ranked teams.

As for Michigan State (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten), their punishment for getting housed by Ohio State was a decline of five spots in the rankings to No. 17, despite losing by 45 points to the Buckeyes.

Here are some other takeaways from the new rankings:

  • The aforementioned Badgers from Wisconsin are gradually beginning to build more credibility,largely due to teams they have beaten ending up in the polls. Should Bucky take run the table in the regular season and win the Big Ten championship over a highly-ranked Ohio State team, they will undoubtedly be in the four-team playoff come New Year’s.
  • Two teams who were in the top four last week that suffered losses — No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame — slipped to No. 7 and 8, respectively. The Bulldogs still have a decent chance to find their way back in, should they win out and get some help along the way. The same cannot be said for the Fighting Irish, who will not have the luxury of a 13th data point, i.e. a conference title game, but still have a great chance to earn a New Year’s Six bowl bid.