Not being ranked in the top 25 may end up hurting MSU's travel plans.
The Spartans (8-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) beat both Iowa and Minnesota during the Big Ten season, but both the Hawkeyes and the Golden Gophers finished with a 9-3 record overall and ended the season ranked No. 12 and No. 25, respectively.
"You have to look at a team that's in the top 25 with a 9-3 record," Trenten Hilburn, media relations director of the Sun Bowl Association, said.
Hilburn said that "there's a lot of factors" when it comes to selecting a school. He said MSU had good characteristics that would help improve its chances of qualifying for the Dec. 31 game in El Paso, Texas. MSU beating Minnesota "plays a part" in the selection process Hilburn said.
The Spartans, along with the Golden Gophers and the Hawkeyes, are all possible candidates to represent the Big Ten in the Sun Bowl - which traditionally invites the 5th ranked team in the conference. All three schools may also represent the conference in the Alamo Bowl or the Motor City Bowl, which goes to the 4th and 7th place Big Ten teams.
The deciding factor will ultimately be where Ohio State, who finished second in the conference, ends up according to Hilburn.
"We have to see what Ohio State does," he said. "It shifts all the way down from the top, starting with the Capital One Bowl, the Outback Bowl, the Alamo. If they're not (in the BCS), then they go to the Capital One, and that affects Purdue and Iowa, who get shifted down."
Alamo Bowl Vice President of Marketing and Communications Rick Hill said they're ready for any team to come down and play - and that the Spartans and Gophers have something extra to prove.
"At this point, we are very confident that Michigan State and Minnesota have great plans for organizing travel to San Antonio," Hill said. "And they both view this as a great way to show the other bowls that they are good travelers."
"These are both programs that want to start playing on New Year's Day regularly. And one way to get there is to show the bowl committees you have loyal fans. And this is a good bowl to announce your presence and authority."
Hill said that both schools "deserve a bowl game."
"What it boils down to is, when you've got 3- and 4-loss teams; they both had good seasons," Hill said.
When it comes to the Motor City Bowl, MSU doesn't just have the in-state connections to the game at Ford Field in Detroit, but in the front office as well.
George Perles, the CEO of the Motor City Bowl game, played football for MSU and later coached them from 1983-94, compiling a 68-67-4 record while winning the Big Ten Championship twice and the Rose Bowl in 1987. He said he would be "thrilled" to "entertain" the Spartans.
"If Michigan State ended up in the Motor City Bowl, it would be good for our economy in the state of Michigan," Perles said.
He added it would benefit the school financially and keep travel costs low for the families and friends of the players.
MSU should know its fate soon. Hilburn said the Sun Bowl was "getting close" to making its final decision, and Hill said the Alamo Bowl should decide by Sunday.
If the Spartans were to play in the Sun Bowl, their opponent would be the Oregon Ducks. The Alamo Bowl has yet to decide and are slated to choose the No. 4 team in the Big 12. The Motor City Bowl will select a team from the Mid-American Conference.
The players don't mind where or who MSU plays. Most are just excited to play in the postseason, though they wouldn't mind a warm temperature.
"I couldn't ask for anything better - to finish 8-4 and get a shot at playing in a bowl game," senior quarterback Jeff Smoker said.
Senior defensive end Greg Taplin said the main reason he came to MSU was because he saw them beat Florida in the 1999 Citrus Bowl. He said he'd like to return to a hot atmosphere for the game.
"I just want to go somewhere sunny, it doesn't matter, I just want to put on some shorts," Taplin said.
