Not everyone in the Big Ten has gotten on the Michigan hype train.
Big Ten media days were this week, and the players in attendance did an anonymous vote on several things about the conference. One of those things was a question about which team was the favorite to win the conference this year, and to some surprise, the answer wasn't Michigan or Ohio State.
It was Michigan State.
Of the 13 votes cast — Nebraska was the only school not at media days — four of the player representatives voted Michigan State as the conference favorite. Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa all received two votes apiece.
The player reps were not allowed to vote for their own team.
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Michigan State hasn't exactly gotten great treatment from the media this offseason; everyone seems down on the Spartans after their 38-0 loss to Alabama in last season's College Football Playoff. That said, Mark Dantonio has kept the program relevant over the past several seasons, so they aren't just going to drop off the face of the planet because of one bad loss. The same could be said for Iowa, who is in a similar position under Kirk Ferentz.
Ohio State and Michigan will definitely have the most attention of any Big Ten teams heading into this upcoming season. However, it appears that the players know they shouldn't underestimate the Spartans after all the success they've had in the past few years.
