College football top 25 countdown: #14 Michigan State

Michigan State.

There are few teams in the country that do more with less than Michigan State. Despite having average recruiting over the past couple of years, the Spartans continue to be one of the most consistent teams in the country. There are a lot of people looking for big things out of this team in 2016. Although they come in at #14 in our team rankings, there are still a lot of questions this year.

Can the team replace their quarterback and leader who is now on an NFL roster? Over the long term, they have done a great job of replacing top talent with relative ease. Connor Cook was a great offensive player for them, and he will be difficult to replace.

The defense is also losing some key players this year. Defense is a term that is synonymous with Michigan State, and their head coach is one of the best in the business at getting his team to play hard. 

Beating Michigan.

Last year, Michigan State beat Michigan in one of the best games of the year. This year, the Wolverines will be looking for revenge.

Michigan State got blown out in their bowl game, and their rivals finished strong. It is important for the Spartans to start the year off hot. However, what is more important is that they finish that way. Although they made the college Football playoff, many people feel like there were more deserving teams. Their biggest win was against Ohio State, and that win really ignited the team. Jack Conklin was a first round draft pick to the Titans, and his leadership will be missed.

Championships.

Michigan State has been really close to taking home a lot of hardware over the past couple of years. The team really struggles with getting over that final hump, and it is important for them to take the chance while they have.

Michigan is still down, and Ohio State is replacing a ton of talent. In order to take the next step as a program, the team needs to finish out the season well. If not, there will be people saying that they can never compete for a title. With all of the talent they have to replace, that is going to be a difficult task.