Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Adam Choice #26 and Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrate with the trophy after their teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 31: Tim Williams #56 of the Alabama Crimson Tide sacks Connor Cook #18 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half during the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on December 31, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /

20. Michigan State Spartans – 2016

Lost to Alabama in Semifinal (Cotton Bowl), 38-0

Based on what they did in the regular season, it was hard to argue that the Michigan State Spartans were deserving of a spot in the 2016 College Football Playoff. Playing in a loaded Big Ten that season, the Spartans passed every test put before them, save for a blip one-point loss to Nebraska at midseason. Even still, they picked up three top-15 wins in conference and a top-10 non-conference win over Oregon.

The Big Ten Champions were led by quarterback Connor Cook that season, who submitted a fantastic season for Sparty. Having said that, the senior signal-caller was not fantastic — or anything remotely close to it — in their semifinal matchup against the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide defense in the Cotton Bowl. With the running back position a bit depleted thanks to the departure of Jeremy Langford and an inexperienced group replacing him, Cook struggled mightily.

While Cook may have thrown for 210 yards, he completed less than 50 percent of his passes (19-of-39) and threw two interceptions to no touchdowns. Of course, Cook wasn’t the only guilty party as the run game (including Cook) had just 26 carries for 29 yards on the day. Moreover, the defense was absolutely lit up in every regard as the run and pass game for Bama rolled.

Though Michigan State had the merit to earn a berth in the CFP, it was clear in their matchup against an elite team that they were a few tiers below the best squads in the country. For that reason, they bring up the rear in these rankings.

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