MSU came in third behind Brigham Young University and Iowa State University. Other Big Ten schools, such as U-M and Purdue, also made the list. 

The list included schools with an enrollment of more than 20,000 students and in the best location to see the foliage. 

"The campus, with its diverse mix of tree species, provides for a wonderful change in colors starting with the early change in brilliant yellow-orange-red leaf color of our sugar and red maples and ashes, culminating about a month later with the dark muted pastel reds of our white oaks," Frank Telewski, plant biology professor, said in the article.

According to PureMichigan.com, the best time to see the colors in the lower peninsula is early to mid-October.