MSU Football Program is Now Elite

Friends, you and I know that the Spartans now have an elite football program.  We've seen the product on the field, we've seen how talented they are, we've seen them dominate some of the best programs in the country -- if I have one concern, it's that they lost to a team they dominated (Wisconsin in the B1G championship) and almost lost to another team they dominated (Georgia in the Outback Bowl).

Well, now it's not just us that recognizes the eliteness of Spartan football.  Several sports media outlets now have high expectations for next year's Spartans.   Kelly Whiteside at USA Today has the Spartans ranked number 6, Andy Staples at Sports Illustrated has the Spartans ranked number 6 in his "Way-Too-Early 2012 Top 25,"  Mark Schlabach has the Spartans ranked number 9, and Dave Miller at the National Football Post has the Spartans ranked number 9.  They're all kind of saying the same thing: that MSU is losing key players but returning 8 starters on defense and LeVeon Bell on offense.  My favorite take, though, is Staples' comment that:

"If a Big Ten program is going to challenge an SEC power before Urban Meyer gets things rolling at Ohio State, it's going to be Michigan State."

I've been thinking the same thing myself -- except for the part about Ohio State.  I don't think MSU's 2012 team would be able to beat this year's Alabama and LSU, but I think they could beat just about anyone else in the country.  Actually, the defense would probably hold its own against Alabama, but the offense is not quite there yet.  As I've mentioned before, though, I think MSU's offense will get there by 2013.

In any case, as I said after the Outback Bowl, the Spartans are now clearly a top 10 program, and now others are beginning to recognize that.  Why are we so blessed?