As they weigh Ohio State’s 17-14 loss to Michigan State with other bad losses by playoff contenders, I would encourage the 12-member panel to make inadmissible everything said by the Buckeyes after that game, in the heat of the moment. Don’t worry, they’re not forgetting about the nation’s top recruits, they just have something more important to attend to: The Big Ten Conference Championship game. Had the Spartans ended up where they appeared to be heading three weeks ago – watching the Big Ten title game on TV – they would have joined the endless list of coulda-been sports teams, robbed of championship hardware in part by poor health. “That’s fine”, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. I want to see what they do against Michigan State who has a great front seven and can make it tough on you. He played in the 2013 Big Ten title game, the 2014 Rose Bowl and the 2015 Cotton Bowl and won all three. “We’ll do what we do”. We do not apply that until we think the teams are the same, or equal. “We weren’t in the best of shape”. It’s that simple. Those are the stakes for Michigan State and Iowa on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ultimately, both plays provided a figurative separation among the programs that Iowa hopes to close in this weekend’s Big Ten title game.
Advertisement
The Spartans have signature wins against Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State.
Iowa and Michigan State have waged some epic battles the past few years. “I think that will be a difference in the game”, VandeBerg said. “We’re not really sure how healthy he is, but he played extremely well (Saturday)”. “We’ve been in that environment. That can only help us”. Twelve plays later, Wisconsin scored the game-winning touchdown and won 31-30. I will go against the odds and say that Iowa will win 28 to 24. “So having another opportunity to go back there and do the same thing, we’re really fired up about it, and we’re just super anxious to get back”. Would Iowa be undefeated if they had played Michigan State’s schedule this season? That’s because the teams aren’t that different.
The Big Ten named Ohio State senior left tackle and Vandalia Butler graduate Taylor Decker the Rimington-Pace Offensive Linemen of the Year on Tuesday and running back Ezekiel Elliott the Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year.
Advertisement
“He’s very accurate in a lot of his throws”, Cook said of Beathard. His 59 catches rank seventh best in the Big Ten this year. Junior quarterback C.J. Beathard and senior center Austin Blythe earned second team honors by both coaches and league media, while Walsh was on the media’s second team. “I am grateful to the University of Iowa for providing the necessary support for our success”. The Hawkeyes have been effective running the ball, but teams have been able to get pressure on the quarterback, which could bode well for Calhoun. With the seventh-best power play and penalty kill in the country, MI enters the Big Ten season with the fifth-best combined special teams nationally. The goal has gotten bigger and narrower at the same time, and Dantonio sees what everyone sees in college football, that the margins are thin and many teams can win.
