The Michigan State Spartans football program isn’t going anywhere. Despite all the chatter about Michigan being Ohio State’s biggest challenger moving forward, Michigan State has been the Buckeyes’ primary nemesis the last few years and will continue to be a main competitor in the coming years. And while the Wolverines are certainly trending up, the Spartans remain as one of the top programs in not only the Big Ten, but also nationally in the last five years. You can expect them to stay there, too, as the Spartans came in at No. 10 in ESPN’s Future Power Rankings that were released Tuesday. As described by ESPN’s Travis Haney, the FPR is “a projection of a program’s strength over the next three years, not just the 2016 season.” Eight ESPN experts worked together to grade teams based on coaching, current talent, recruiting, title path and program foundation to create a formula that ranks each program. Michigan State ranked just in front of Florida and behind Notre Dame. Ohio State (No. 2) and Michigan (No. 5) did both come in ahead of the Spartans, but that doesn’t mean Michigan State should be discounted after battling through key injuries to win the Big Ten Championship and reach the College Football Playoff last season. “I fully expected them to take some kind of a step back,” ESPN’s Mark Schlbach said of the Spartans, who also lost defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi to Pitt. “I think they’re definitely there to stay. Everyone talks about (Michigan head coach Jim)…
Continue Reading: Spartans make top 10 of ESPN's Future Power Rankings
