When the first College Football Playoff rankings are announced later tonight Michigan State, coach Mark Dantonio will be parked in front of his television. He’ll be watching the screen intently, but he’ll he looking at game film of Nebraska, not at where his team stands in the committee’s eyes.
The Big Ten has three viable playoff contenders this season, as many as any other conference in the country. None of the coaches with skin in the game said they plan on spending much time dwelling on the initial rankings tonight. Ohio State’s Urban Meyer told reporters on a teleconference Tuesday afternoon that he had forgotten the first rankings would be released this week.