EAST LANSING — The schedule called for Payton Thorne and the rest of the Michigan State football program to be in a team meeting around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Which just happens to be when the first College Football Playoff rankings come out, with the No. 6 Spartans likely to be announced as one of the top contenders for a berth, coming off a thrilling 37-33 win over No. 10 Michigan on Saturday.
They won’t be watching the countdown on ESPN, though. Thorne and the others plan to be talking to “a few of our former players” instead.