MSU has No. 1 defense in the country according to SP+ College Football Rankings

Michigan State may have fallen out of the top-25 with their loss last week to Arizona State, but they have since returned to the top-25 in the AP Poll after their big win yesterday over Northwestern. What’s interesting though, is that MSU never fell out of the top-25 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings as they were at number 23 last week and now stand at number 20 in Bill Connelly’s weekly efficiency rankings.

The big reason for this? Michigan State’s defense is now #1 in the country in the SP+ rankings after yesterday’s stellar outing, beating Northwestern 31-10.

MSU up to no. 20.
No. 1 defense
No. 87 offense.
Worth noting that Bill said earlier preseason projections currently make up 55% of ratings. They get phased out the further we go in the season. https://t.co/TmS36Btaeb

— Wil Hunter (@Wil__Hunter) September 22, 2019

The offense is still ranked extremely low at number 87, a ranking that is largely based on A) The preseason evaluation of the offense and B) The rock fight that was the Arizona State loss.

In one of the most surprising (and disappointing) developments of the season, Michigan State’s special teams unit is ranked number 84 out of 130 teams in what is, without question, Matt Coghlin’s worst season as the field goal kicker.