Michigan State didn’t have to earn style points on Saturday.

It just had to win. And four top-10 teams had to lose.

That was the formula the pushed the Spartans back into the top 10 in the latest College Football Playoff poll. MSU was slotted at No. 9 after its 24-7 win against Maryland.

Michigan State is still in position to earn a top-four spot, potentially as early as next week if it can knock off Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday.

The Buckeyes are the only B1G team that’s cracked the top four in the first three weeks of the CFP poll. They came in at No. 3 while Iowa was slotted at No. 5, Michigan came in behind the Spartans at No. 12, and Northwestern and Wisconsin took the No. 20 and No. 25 spots, respectively.

MSU is still in control of its own destiny for the B1G East, and potentially to earn at CFP berth.