The CFP Era · 2014–present

Michigan State

Twelve seasons in three acts · Big Ten

81–65Record
55.5%Win %
0National titles
2014Peak season
53Avg. percentile
27NFL draftees

The three-act trajectory

Within-season power percentile against the FBS cohort, season by season.

FOUNDINGTRANSITIONEXPANSION0255075100141516171819202122232425Peak of the era2014 · 11–2Steepest fall2016
Source CFB Zeitgeist · power ratings
Founding2014–2020

The four-team Playoff era. The bracket is small, the margin for error none.

52–33 · avg percentile 63
Transition2021–2023

The last seasons before expansion — NIL arrives, the portal opens, the four-team format ends.

20–17 · avg percentile 42
Expansion2024–present

The twelve-team Playoff. A wider field changes what a season has to prove.

9–15 · avg percentile 33

Defining games

Coaches of the era

Mark Dantonio2014–2017
Mel Tucker2020–2023
Jonathan Smith2024–2025

Roster of the era

27 players drafted into the NFL across the CFP era.

414
515
216
117
218
219
421
322
123
124
225

Entering Year 13

The 2026 season opens the next chapter of the expansion era under Jonathan Smith. See the 2014–2025 program page →