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College Football Rankings Week 9: Michigan State Enters Top Ten After Hail Mary

 

The latest college football rankings are out, and the Michigan State Spartans have taken over as the highest ranked team in the Big Ten conference.

Mark D'Antoni's crew had one of the most exciting finishes in college football history on Saturday night as they heaved up a prayer at the end of regulation, one that was batted down by a Wisconsin player into the arms of a Michigan State receiver who fought for the score.

The play was initially called down at the one inch line, but was reviewed and then called a touchdown. The Spartan faithful went absolutely nuts, and the Wisconsin Badgers' perfect season came to a screeching halt as their comeback fell just short.

Russell Wilson's crew moved from 4th to 12th in the newest polls, and those two teams are joined by Nebraska (13th), Michigan (17th), and Penn State (21st) in the top 25.

Dropping out of the top 25 entirely was Illinois, who has suffered two straight losses to two of the more below average teams in the Big Ten (Ohio State, Purdue). Illinois is reeling and their offense is in a serious funk, only scoring 21 points the last two games.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have lost two games this season, but they are receiving some votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. If Kirk Ferentz's crew can string together some wins, meaning beating Minnesota and Michigan in the next two weeks, they could creep back into the top 25 easily.

Sitting on top of the rankings this week are LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Stanford, and Boise State.

Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.