College Football Rankings: Michigan, MSU Remain In Week 4 BlogPoll

The Michigan St. Spartans found themslves on the losing end of a 20-3 game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their last outing. It was their first loss of the season, and they now sport a 20-3 record. They've got a much easier matchup on Saturday as they'll be taking on Eastern Michigan, but have to get right back to it against the Ohio St. Buckeyes the following week.

In last week's BlogPoll Top 25 at SB Nation, the Spartans were ranked very high, at No. 8, but they've plummeted in the latest rankings, posted Tuesday by Andy Hutchins. They find themselves down 14 spots, all the way at No. 22, with only Northwestern, Mississippi and the Ohio Bobcats below them.

After losing in their opening matchup to the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Michigan Wolverines have rattled off two-straight wins, beating Air Force and Massachusetts. Neither win is overly impressive, so the Wolverines find themselves at No. 21 on the BlogPoll, just one spot above the Spartans and with no shift in placement from last week.

For more on the Michigan Wolverines, check out Maize n Brew. For more on the Michigan State Spartans, go to The Only Colors. You can learn more about college football around the country over at SB Nation's College Football hub.

College Football Rankings, Week 4: Michigan Falls A Spot In AP Poll Despite Win

Despite breezing past UMass 63-13 on Saturday while racking up 585 yards of total offense, the Michigan football team fell from No. 17 to No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, released Sunday.

That's not so much a reflection on Michigan's performance, but just shows that a few teams had signature wins Saturday that merited moves in front of the Wolverines in the rankings. Notre Dame moved from No. 20 to No. 11 with its win over Michigan State, Florida moved up to No. 14 from No. 18 after its win over Tennessee and Stanford moved from No. 21 to No. 9 after beating USC.

Michigan travels to play Notre Dame, which looked dominant in its 20-3 win over Michigan State Saturday, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22.

For more on the Michigan Wolverines, check out Maize n Brew. You can learn more about college football around the country over at SB Nation's College Football hub.

College Football Rankings, Week 4: Michigan State Falls 11 Spots In AP Poll

After losing to Notre Dame 20-3 Saturday, Michigan State has fallen from No. 10 to No. 21 in the AP Top 25 Poll released Sunday.

Michigan State's offense couldn't get anything going against a stout Notre Dame defense. The win propelled the Irish, who are now 3-0, up nine spots, from No. 20 to No. 11 in the latest poll. See the full rankings here.

Le'Veon Bell, a Heisman Trophy candidate, was held to just 77 yards rushing on 19 carries. Andrew Maxwell was sacked four times and completed just 23 of 45 passes for 187 yards. Michigan State only accumulated 237 yards of total offense in the game. It was the team's second straight loss to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame hosts Michigan, which fell from No. 17 to No. 18 in the AP Poll despite beating UMass, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22. Michigan State will play at home against unranked Eastern Michigan at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 22.

Stick with SB Nation Detroit for more coverage of Spartan football, and for all things MSU check out The Only Colors.

College Football Rankings: Michigan State Climbs To No. 8 In SB Nation BlogPoll

The latest SB Nation BlogPoll has been released, and Mark Dantonio's Michigan State Spartans moved up one spot to No. 8 after rolling over Central Michigan on Saturday, 41-7.

The Spartans remain the top Big Ten school in the rankings, as No. 13 Ohio State, their next closest competitor, conspicuously received one first-place vote in the balloting.

Not convinced by Denard Robinson and the Michigan Wolverines after their 31-25 victory over Air Force, voters dropped Brady Hoke's squad down two more places to No. 21 overall. The Wolverines began the year with high hopes and an overwhelming amount of support in the BlogPoll, but will now definitely need to put forth a string of impressive games to win back voters.

In a lopsided victory among voters, Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide picked up 88 of the 94 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 spot over Louisiana State and USC. Alabama remains the class of college football after trouncing the Wolverines in Week 1, but will face a stout test against the Arkansas Razorbacks this Saturday.

Be sure to stay with this StoryStream for more news on Michigan and Michigan State's rankings, and be sure to check out SB Nation's college football hub for more coverage from around the country. Also visit Maize N Brew for more Michigan football coverage, and The Only Colors for more on the Spartans.

College Football Rankings, Week 3: Michigan State Lands In AP Poll's Top 10

Michigan State and Michigan both land in the top 20 of the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

College Football Rankings: Michigan State At No. 9 In SB Nation BlogPoll

After winning their season opener, the Michigan State Spartans are ranked No. 9 on SB Nation's Week 2 BlogPoll entering this week's action. They're the highest-rated team in the Big Ten Conference, although four other teams from the conference land in the top 20.

With the 17-13 win over the Boise State Broncos last week, Michigan State knocked off arguably its most difficult non-conference foe of the year. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, ranked No. 21 in the BlogPoll, come to town on Sept. 15, but we'll see how they fare against Purdue Boilermakers this week after the 50-10 beat down of Navy in Ireland.

The Alabama Crimson Tide take the top spot in the rankings after crushing the Michigan Wolverines last week. Alabama nabbed 81 of the 93 first-place votes, with 10 going to second-ranked USC and one apiece to Oregon and Oklahoma State.

Other than Michigan State, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan Wolverines are included in the top 20.

For more on Michigan State football; check out The Only Colors and SB Nation Detroit. For more on all things college football be sure to visit SB Nation's college football hub.

College Football Rankings: USA Today Poll Drops Michigan To 19th

After being completely dismantled by the Alabama Crimson Tide in a season-opening loss on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines dropped a full 11 spots down to No. 19 overall in the latest USA Today Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

Brady Hoke's Wolverines entered the season at No. 8 overall with BCS title game aspirations, but ran into a juggernaut Alabama defense that completely stifled the gameplan of offensive coordinator Al Borges. The 41-14 final score not only knocked Michigan just three spots away from rival No. 22 Notre Dame, but also represented the single largest shift for any team in the opening week.

With the news that starting cornerback Blake Countess is now out for the season, Hoke's team surely faces an uphill battle in order to remain on track with its lofty goals entering the year. The Wolverines should benefit slightly from having Air Force and Massachusetts up next on their schedule, but it's looking like it will take the better part of the 2012 season for Michigan to climb back to its previous ranking at this point.

Go here for the full Week 1 Top Coaches' Poll.

Head over to Maize N Brew for more Michigan football coverage, and be sure to check out SB Nation's college football hub for more news and analysis from around the country.

College Football Rankings: Michigan State Jumps To 11th In USA Today Poll

The Michigan State Spartans climbed two spots in the USA Today Coaches' Poll up to No. 11. The Spartans similarly rose two spots up to 11th in the AP Rankings following their Aug. 31 victory over Boise State. Boise State dropped out of the AP Poll, but remained in the Coaches' Poll, coming in at 25th.

Looking at the Big Ten and rest of the Coaches' Poll, in-state rival Michigan comes in No. 19, Wisconsin at No. 13, and Nebraska at No. 14. Michigan State's week 3 opponent Notre Dame comes in at No. 22 in the poll. Ohio State is not ranked in the Coaches' Poll due to their post-season ban.

Michigan State will host the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday.

For more on Michigan State football; check out The Only Colors and SB Nation Detroit. For more on all things college football be sure to visit SB Nation's college football hub.

AP Top 25: Michigan Falls To No. 19

The Michigan Wolverines are still licking their wounds from the beatdown handed out by Alabama, and one of those wounds showed today in the release of the Week 2 AP Top 25 poll for college football. Michigan fell 11 spots from No. 8 to No. 19 after the 41-14 loss to the Crimson Tide. The Wolverines also lost the sole first-place vote they received in the preseason poll.

Michigan is the only team in the AP Top 25 that currently has a loss, but several future opponents are ranked in the poll as well. In-state rival Michigan State is No. 11, Ohio State is No. 14, Legends Division foe Nebraska is No. 16, and Notre Dame is No. 22.

Additional coverage on Michigan can be found at Maize N Brew, while SB Nation's NCAA Football hub is the place for all things college pigskin.

AP Top 25 Poll: Michigan State Climbs To No. 11

The Michigan State Spartans rose two spots to No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll on the strength of their 17-13 win over Boise State. Alabama's 41-14 thrashing of Michigan was enough to boost the Crimson Tide to No. 1 in the poll, while the Wolverines dropped 11 spots to No. 19.

The Spartans took out Boise State largely on the strength of Le'Veon Bell's game, one that included 210 yards on 44 carries and earned Bell the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week award.

The full AP Top 25 Poll results:

Record; Pts; Pv

1. Alabama (45) 1-0; 1,481; 2

2. Southern Cal (11) 1-0; 1,435; 1

3. LSU (4) 1-0; 1,382; 3

4. Oregon 1-0; 1,295; 5

5. Oklahoma 1-0; 1,170; 4

6. Florida St. 1-0; 1,135; 7

7. Georgia 1-0; 1,083; 6

8. Arkansas 1-0; 992; 10

9. South Carolina 1-0; 980; 9

9. West Virginia 1-0; 980; 11

11. Michigan St. 1-0; 915; 13

12. Clemson 1-0; 788; 14

13. Wisconsin 1-0; 664; 12

14. Ohio State -0; 634; 18

15. Virginia Tech 1-0; 604; 16

16. Nebraska 1-0; 603; 17

17. Texas 1-0; 584; 15

18. Oklahoma State 1-0; 558; 19

19. Michigan 0-1; 446; 8

20. TCU 0-0; 355; 20

21. Kansas State 1-0; 339; 22

22. Notre Dame 1-0; 198; NR

23. Louisville 1-0; 190; 25

24. Florida 1-0; 145; 23

25. Stanford 1-0; 131; 21

Stick with this StoryStream for more coverage of Michigan State heading into Week 2. For all things Spartans, head over to The Only Colors.