Michigan State football will enter the 2018 season ranked No. 11 in the nation according to the recently-released preseason AP poll. The Spartans haven’t been ranked this high to start a season since 2015, where they entered the season at the No. 5 slot.
As for the top of the poll, Alabama and Clemson hold the top two spots after reaching the College Football Playoff in each of the last three seasons. This is the Crimson Tide’s third straight year entering the year at No. 1. Last year’s finalists Georgia takes the third spot, while Big Ten members Wisconsin and Ohio State round out the top five.
MSU will face three teams that will start the year in the top 25, as the Big Ten placed five total teams in the poll. Penn State is placed just ahead of the Spartans at No. 10 and rivals Michigan make the poll’s biggest jump from the end of last year, moving from unranked to No. 14.
The Wolverines are one of five teams to enter the preseason top 25 after ending 2017 on the outside looking in. West Virginia, Florida State, Oregon and Texas all received enough votes to enter the poll heading into the college football season’s first games this weekend.
The list in full, with first-place votes in parentheses:
- Alabama (42)
- Clemson (18)
- Georgia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Ohio State
- Washington
- Oklahoma
- Miami (FL)
- Auburn
- Penn State
- Michigan State
- Notre Dame
- Stanford
- Michigan
- USC
- TCU
- West Virginia
- Mississippi State
- Florida State
- Virginia Tech
- UCF
- Boise State
- Texas
- Oregon
- LSU
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