Michigan State is right behind Alabama; Michigan is tied for last in FBS
Ah, football, we missed you.
The hype and smack-talk is beginning to bubble, so here’s an interesting nugget for our pigskin craving readers.
College Football News analyzed the past five years of each program looking for “Elite Wins.”
Michigan State performed quite well in this study.
Michigan did not.
An “Elite Win” is a home victory over an FBS team that finished with two losses or fewer, or a road or bowl victory against a team that finished with three losses.
An extra half-win is added when a team earns a road or bowl victory over a team that finished with two losses or fewer.
How did our schools score in this “Elite Win” analysis?
Michigan State, 8, fifth most.
Central Michigan, 2.
Western Michigan, 1½.
Michigan, 0.
Eastern Michigan, 0.
That’s right, CMU and WMU both have more “Elite Wins” than Michigan, which has a big fat zero. That’s tied for last in the FBS, or as many as Big Ten foes Rutgers, Purdue, Minnesota, Illinois and Maryland.
Alabama is fourth with a score of 8½ “Elite Wins,” Clemson and Oklahoma are tied for second with a score of 10, and Ohio State is atop the list with 12.
The Spartans’ score of eight was compiled by defeating:
2017: Penn State
2015: at Michigan, at Ohio State (1½), Iowa (Big Ten Championship)
2014: Baylor (1½) (Cotton)
2013: Ohio State (Big Ten Championship), Stanford (Rose)
The Chippewas beat Oklahoma State in 2016 and Northern Illinois in 2014.
The Broncos won at two-loss Toledo in 2015.
As for the Wolverines, well zero speaks for itself.
Michigan won home games over Wisconsin and Penn State in 2016, Jim Harbaugh’s second season, but both the Badgers and Nittany Lions lost three games that year, so the wins do not qualify as “Elite.” Michigan defeated three-loss Northwestern at home in 2015.
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