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MSU reached No. 5 under Nick Saban in 1999 and under Mark Dantonio in 2010, but after defeating Ohio State last night, the Spartans jumped up from No. 9/10 to No. 4 in both major polls. It's MSU's highest ranking since opening the 1967 season at No. 3.
All those scenarios about a backdoor BCS appearance did not matter, with MSU taking care of business.
Coaches Poll (see ballots here)
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | FIRST PLACE VOTES | PREVIOUS RANK | CHANGE | HI/LOW* |
| 1 | Florida State Seminoles |
13-0 | 1550 | 62 | 1 | 1/12 | |
| 2 | Auburn Tigers |
12-1 | 1486 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2/NR |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
11-1 | 1414 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1/4 |
| 4 | Michigan State Spartans |
12-1 | 1342 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 4/NR |
| 5 | Baylor Bears |
11-1 | 1275 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 4/NR |
| 6 | Ohio State Buckeyes |
12-1 | 1211 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2/6 |
| 7 | Stanford Cardinal |
11-2 | 1188 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 4/13 |
| 8 | South Carolina Gamecocks |
10-2 | 1108 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6/20 |
| 9 | Missouri Tigers |
11-2 | 1088 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5/NR |
| 10 | Oklahoma Sooners |
10-2 | 913 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 8/18 |
| 11 | Clemson Tigers |
10-2 | 899 | 0 | 11 | 4/11 | |
| 12 | Oregon Ducks |
10-2 | 887 | 0 | 12 | 2/12 | |
| 13 | Oklahoma State Cowboys |
10-2 | 845 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 6/20 |
| 14 | LSU Tigers |
9-3 | 719 | 0 | 14 | 6/19 | |
| 15 | Central Florida Knights |
11-1 | 658 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 15/NR |
| 16 | Louisville Cardinals |
11-1 | 611 | 0 | 16 | 6/17 | |
| 17 | Arizona State Sun Devils |
10-3 | 602 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 13/NR |
| 18 | UCLA Bruins |
9-3 | 520 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 10/22 |
| 19 | Wisconsin Badgers |
9-3 | 408 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 14/NR |
| 20 | Fresno State Bulldogs |
11-1 | 344 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 13/NR |
| 21 | Duke Blue Devils |
10-3 | 247 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 20/NR |
| 21 | Texas A&M Aggies |
8-4 | 247 | 0 | 25 | 4 | 6/25 |
| 23 | Northern Illinois Huskies |
12-1 | 149 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 18/NR |
| 24 | Georgia Bulldogs |
8-4 | 135 | 0 | NR | 5/NR | |
| 25 | Miami Hurricanes |
9-3 | 73 | 0 | NR | 6/NR |
AP Poll:
| Rank | Team | Record | Votes | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State (56) | 13-0 | 1,496 | 1 |
| 2 | Auburn (4) | 12-1 | 1,444 | 3 |
| 3 | Alabama | 11-1 | 1,376 | 4 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 12-1 | 1,278 | 10 |
| 5 | Stanford | 11-2 | 1,217 | 7 |
| 6 | Baylor | 11-1 | 1,185 | 9 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 12-1 | 1,130 | 2 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 10-2 | 1,099 | 8 |
| 9 | Missouri | 11-2 | 1,066 | 5 |
| 10 | Oregon | 10-2 | 880 | 12 |
| 11 | Oklahoma | 10-2 | 878 | 18 |
| 12 | Clemson | 10-2 | 848 | 13 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 10-2 | 797 | 6 |
| 14 | LSU | 9-3 | 726 | 14 |
| 15 | UCF | 11-1 | 629 | 15 |
| 16 | Arizona State | 10-3 | 614 | 11 |
| 17 | UCLA | 9-3 | 544 | 17 |
| 18 | Louisville | 11-1 | 525 | 19 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 9-3 | 383 | 21 |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 8-4 | 282 | 22 |
| 21 | Fresno State | 11-1 | 227 | 24 |
| 22 | Duke | 10-3 | 201 | 20 |
| 23 | Georgia | 8-4 | 196 | 25 |
| 24 | Northern Illinois | 12-1 | 144 | 16 |
| 25 | Notre Dame | 8-4 | 76 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes: USC 74, Iowa 48, Miami (FL) 47, Vanderbilt 25, Texas 22, Cincinnati 11, Bowling Green 10, Washington 9, Rice 7, North Dakota State 4, Minnesota 2 |