EAST LANSING, Mich. — As if the Michigan State Spartans’ Big Ten championship cake needed any more icing.
The Spartans – who punched their Rose Bowl ticket with a 34-24 win over Ohio State on Saturday – jumped up six spots from last week and finish the regular season fourth in the Bowl Championship Series rankings — the highest in program history.
Michigan State is also ranked fourth in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls. It’s their highest USA Today ranking ever and best AP ranking since 1967.
The program also got their 12th win of the season Saturday – a new school record.
Michigan State will play Pac-12 champion and fifth-ranked Stanford in the Rose Bowl on New Years’ Day in Pasadena, California. Kickoff is 5:15 p.m. Michigan time.