The new college football rankings that are going to be released today will include the first real shake up we've seen in weeks. The last couple of weeks of college football didn't really provide too much drama in the top ten of the rankings because there weren't any big upsets. That wasn't the case the last two days, however. Boise State, LSU and Oklahoma State were all upset, meaning some teams are going to be on the move in the new BCS standings.
One of the teams that should be on the move in a positive direction is Michigan State, which beat Penn State on Saturday to finish the season with an 11-1 record. MSU was ranked 10th in last week's BCS standings, but it could move all the way up to seventh in the new edition of the rankings. Boise State is expected to fall quite a few spots after losing to Nevada; LSU is likely going to drop below MSU after suffering its second loss of the season; and Oklahoma State is headed backward after losing to Oklahoma. All three teams were ranked ahead of MSU last week, but the Spartans should pass them by in the new standings, which will be released later today.
Based strictly on looking at the teams ahead of MSU that lost, the Spartans are projected to be ranked seventh in the new BCS standings. It is possible MSU could only move up two spots to eighth, though. Arkansas' win over LSU will for sure vault the Razorbacks into the top ten, as they were ranked 12th a week ago. Could the win have such a big effect that it moves them past MSU? It's certainly possible, and it wouldn't be the first time a two-loss team passed the Spartans in the BCS standings.
At the end of the day, the BCS standings, like all of the college football polls, will be more for show than anything else for MSU. They will only matter if the Spartans could pass both Wisconsin and Ohio State to get the Big Ten's automatic bid to the Rose Bowl, but that does not appear to even be remotely possible. Even so, if the Spartans were to win their bowl game, a top five finish in the major college football rankings wouldn't be completely out of the question if teams ahead of them end up losing. Again, it will just be for show, but finishing in the top five of the major polls would be some great recruiting fodder, especially in the final month before signing day.