MSU football 2011-12 early rankings at #12 and #16 The Enlightened Spartan: MSU football 2011-12 early rankings at #12 and #16

Saturday, January 15, 2011

MSU football 2011-12 early rankings at #12 and #16

OK - sorry Spartan fans... Delayed posts by the ES here. Da ES is swamped into dissertation work, so your patience is appreciated. But, two important points.

#1 - Michigan State ended up ranked in football #14 in both the AP and USA Today polls (see below). Not too shabby - much better than what most of us anticipated at the beginning of the year.

#2 - The Spartans are ranked decently in very early power rankings for the 2011 season. Look at Rivals at #12 and at SI.com at #16 .

Sez Rivals:"Almost all of the key skill-position players will be back, and if Dantonio and his staff can remake the linebacker corps, the Spartans will be in excellent shape." Sez Andy Staples at SI: "Quarterback Kirk Cousins and tailback Edwin Baker lead a large group of returning starters that should keep the Spartans competing for the Big Ten title. After laying an egg against Alabama in the Capital One Bowl, Michigan State has a lot to prove in the first season of the new-look Big Ten."