Michigan State Has Renewed Hope For College Football Playoff
By Jeff Hauser
@radiohauser
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
The No. 10 Michigan State Spartans escaped a week of wild upsets in college football and avoided a fourth quarter collapse against the No. 19 Nebraska Cornhuskers to win 27-22. The Cornhuskers kept it interesting after being down 27-3 going into the fourth quarter, before scoring three touchdowns including a drive into Michigan State’s territory in the final minute.
Michigan State has new hope of reaching college football’s four-team playoff this year with No. 2 Oregon Ducks, No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide, No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners, No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies, and No. 8 UCLA Bruins all being upset this week.
Michigan State’s only loss of the season came in Week 2 on the road against Oregon and quarterback Marcus Mariota, who hung 28 unanswered points on the Spartans in the second half of the Ducks’ 46-27 victory. If you take away that horrible second half of play, the Spartans would be a top five team competing for a possible repeat of the Big Ten championship. The door is still wide open, but it seems the “last team standing” in the undefeated playoff race could be left with the invitation.
The Spartans’ defense shut down Nebraska’s No. 2 ranked running game for the most part, holding Cornhuskers running back Ameer Abdullah to 45 yards rushing. He managed to score on two short runs in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get up to speed in the game. The Huskers came into the contest averaging 355 yards on the ground but were held in check by the Michigan State’s No. 4 ranked rushing defense. Spartans running back Jeremy Langford came out looking more like Abdullah, with 29 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown.
It could be smooth sailing for Michigan State for the rest of the season with only one ranked team left on their schedule, the No. 20 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Nov. 8 at home.
Jeff Hauser is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @radiohauser.
10 Biggest Disappointments From CFB Bowl Season
There is no doubt about it: The SEC was the most disappointing conference during bowl season. Read More
Oregon Football's Don Pellum Deserves Spotlight
The first-year DC for the Ducks is the unsung coaching hero on Oregon’s flight to the CFB Championship Game. Read More
Hill Making Right Move to Transfer From A&M
Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill is making the right move by transferring, as he could certainly use a fresh start. Read More
5 Football Recruits Notre Dame Hopes To Sign
With a little less than a month until Signing Day, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will look to build off their bowl victory and close the 2015 recruiting class on a high note. Read More
Mariota Will Be Key for Oregon in Title Game
Saying that Marcus Mariota will be the key in the College Football Playoff Championship Game is stating the obvious. Read More
College Football Bowl Season's 10 Biggest Winners
It’s not just about the schools and teams that are winning, but also about the business of college football. Read More
D.J. Durkin A Great Fit For Michigan
D.J. Durkin was a great hire for the University of Michigan. He should be able to take an already good defense to the next level. Read More
Yeldon Wisely Declares for 2015 NFL Draft
With little opportunity to improve his draft stock and with nothing left to prove at the collegiate level, T.J. Yeldon made the right decision. Read More
Beamer Deserves One Final Shot With Hokies
Virginia Tech was just another technology-centric institute until Frank Beamer created a top-15 football culture. Read More
5 Reasons Why CFP System Was Successful This Year
For year many college football fans wanted to see some sort of playoff system, and the College Football Playoff was successful in its first year of existence. Read More
5 Recruits Texas Longhorns Still Hope to Sign
The Texas Longhorns currently have the No. 9 rated recruiting class in the country. Here are five more recruits the team still hopes to sign. Read More
Ohio State's Meyer Doing All-Time Great Job
Imagine a team losing its starting quarterback just before the season began. Add to that the fact that the quarterback was expected to be a Heisman Trophy contender. Read More