The rise was coming. After beating unbeaten Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday without Connor Cook, that much was clear.

The question was how high would Michigan State climb?

Well, the Spartans went from No. 9 to No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff poll. It marked the Spartans’ highest ranking in the top 25 of the CFP this season.

Michigan State had plenty of B1G company in the upper echelon of the top 25. For the first time, four B1G teams cracked the top 10.

Iowa came in at No. 4 while OSU fell to No. 8 after Saturday’s loss to the Spartans.

Michigan and Northwestern both continued their rises in the poll after picking up impressive road victories, and were slotted at No. 10 and No. 16, respectively.

MSU will have a chance to clinch a spot in the B1G Championship with a win against Penn State on Saturday. If the Spartans win, they would face off with Iowa with a potential playoff spot up for grabs.