Michigan State drops out of Top 10 in new CFP rankings
Michigan State has dropped five spots to No. 12 in the latest rendition of the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings.
The fall was expected after the Spartans' 56-7 loss to Ohio State this past weekend in Columbus. With that loss, Michigan State fell out of the race for a Big Ten East division title, the conference championship and a playoff berth.
The Spartans remain in contention for a possible New Year's Six bowl berth, but will need a win this weekend against Penn State to keep that hope alive.
No. 1 Georgia remains atop the rankings for the fourth consecutive week. The Bulldogs have held the top spot in every edition of the CFP committee rankings.
No. 2 Ohio State jumped over No. 3 Alabama following the dominant win over the Spartans, knocking the Crimson Tide off from the No. 2 spot for the first time this season.
No. 4 Cincinnati rounds out the current playoff bracket, marking the first time in history a Group of 5 school has been ranked amongst the four playoff teams. The Bearcats are followed by No. 5 Michigan and No. 6 Notre Dame as the first two teams on the outside looking in.
No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 10 Oklahoma round out the Top 10.
No. 11 Oregon had an eight-spot tumble following their 38-7 loss to Utah last weekend. The Utes rose from No. 23 to No. 19 following that big win.
Other ranked Big Ten teams include No. 14 Wisconsin and No. 16 Iowa.
As the season draws to a close, several top contenders for the College Football Playoff will collide this week. Michigan and Ohio State will meet for "The Game", while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State square off for "Bedlam".
Both of those games will serve as de facto playoff games for those programs.
Michigan State will host Penn State in its regular season finale this weekend in East Lansing, as the two programs will battle for the Land-Grant Trophy.
