It’s officially disrespect season for the Michigan State football program. After a disappointing 5-7 season in Jonathan Smith’s first year in East Lansing, some analysts are starting to pour the disrespect onto the Spartans’ football team. FOX College Football analyst RJ Young put out his 136-team college football rankings on Monday morning, and Michigan State came in at No. 97, good for second-to-last in the Big Ten, just ahead of Purdue at No. 99.
This ranking feels a little ridiculous, honestly. Michigan State has added a lot of talent this offseason. Aidan Chiles has been getting a lot of hype as a breakout candidate this year. Jonathan Smith had a full year to install his program and adjust the personnel to his liking after spending last offseason just trying to field a competitive team. The Spartans should be on the upswing this year, so it was a little strange to see them so far behind teams like Northwestern and Maryland, who they out-performed last year, even.
You can see the full rankings below:
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