Kirk Herbstreit gives Michigan State fans hope after dropping in Week 2 CFP rankings

The Michigan State Spartans lost to Purdue and dropped to No. 7 in the Week 2 CFP rankings but Kirk Herbstreit offered an optimistic outlook.

The Michigan State Spartans fell to No. 7 in the second College Football Playoff rankings of the 2021 season on the heels of their 40-29 loss to Purdue.

Many fans in East Lansing, and observers of the sport in general, were particularly outraged that the Spartans fell behind the Michigan Wolverines (No. 6) after beating their in-state rivals just 10 days prior.

After the rankings were revealed, though ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit offered a bit of optimism for Michigan State, saying that there is still a path for the Spartans to claw their way back into the top four:

Kirk Herbstreit offers Michigan State the path to the College Football Playoff

Herbstreit is right in that the Spartans have opportunities in the regular season but, more importantly than that, they still control their own destiny. It would be nearly impossible for the selection committee to leave out a one-loss Big Ten champion, which Michigan State still has the opportunity to secure.

The Spartans were the third-ranked team in the first CFP rankings last week and the loss obviously hurts them and makes the path harder. However, in the Big Ten East, Mel Tucker’s team still has the tiebreaker over No. 6-ranked Michigan, which ultimately helps their chances moving forward.

In two weeks the Spartans will play at No. 4 Ohio State, which has yet to lose a conference game. If they can just win their next three games, then Michigan State will win their division and go play in the conference championship game. Win that and they would almost certainly be in.

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