Michigan State Spartans crack top 15 in first college football AP poll

The first AP Top 25 poll of the 2016 college football season is out, where Michigan State came in at No. 12.

This comes after the Spartans were ranked No. 11 in the first coaches poll of 2016. Giving all of the key players that MSU is replacing this year, being inside the top 15 of both major polls seems fair, even though we all expect the Spartans to finish higher in the poll when bowl season comes around.

The AP poll is done by a panel of 61 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country votes on the poll weekly. The rankings get determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks college football's best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 for second place and so on through to the 25th team, which receives one point. The rankings are set by listing the teams' point totals from highest to lowest.

Here is the full AP Top 25:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Clemson Tigers
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. Florida State Seminoles
5. LSU Tigers
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. Stanford Cardinal
9. Tennessee Volunteers
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
11. Ole Miss Rebels
12. Michigan State Spartans
13. TCU Horned Frogs
14. Washington Huskies
15. Houston Cougars
16. UCLA Bruins
17. Iowa Hawkeyes
18. Georgia Bulldogs
19. Louisville Cardinals
20. USC Trojans
21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
22. North Carolina Tar Heels
23. Baylor Bears
24. Oregon Ducks
25. Florida Gators