Clemson plays North Carolina for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship; Alabama plays Florida for the Southeastern Conference title.
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“It would be huge”, Cook said, “to play on a stage that big”.
Why is that? It’s working for these two programs heading into their matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday. As soon as you try to slip a block backdoor or run around a block to avoid contact, it gets ugly. That said, if Pitt’s defense is a reflection of MSU’s with lesser talent and Pat Narduzzi is huddling with Dantonio to give him the skinny on what the Hawkeyes’ like to do on both sides of the ball. “But maybe a little bit more in terms of the attitude and the work ethic and the continuity and some of those things”. The Hawkeyes (12-0, 8-0 Big Ten) are making their first appearance in the Big Ten title game. But he doesn’t make many mistakes, either, and that could be the key against Michigan State’s opportunistic defense.
Earlier in the season the Michigan State Spartans suffered a defeat at the hands of Nebraska 39-38.
Mountain West Championship: Air Force at San Diego State (-4.5): San Diego State has been at its best in the Mountain West, riding Donnell Pumphrey’s 6.1 yards per touch average to an undefeated conference record.
Michigan State has set itself up as a perennial contender under Mark Dantonio.
“That’s another reason we wanted to compare ourselves to Iowa”, Dantonio said. They tend to further argue that meeting those expectations involves no small amount of pressure and that a coach’s ability to handle that pressure and still guide their teams to success should be measured when assessing coaching performances.
“I know in the world we live in right now, walking the plank is really a popular thing”, Ferentz said. The two teams also have waged some epic battles the past few years. Michigan State’s passing game is led by the star-studded tandem of Connor Cook and Aaron Burbridge, while Iowa signal-caller C.J. Beathard has found refuge in junior wide receiver Matt VandeBerg.
Jordan Canzeri carried a big load, running 17 times for 140 yards on a day when Iowa netted just 250 yards and went 0-of-9 on third-down conversions but benefitted from four Tommy Armstrong interceptions.
He also was first Spartans player to receive the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the top defensive back in college football and an award that King is one of three finalists for this season. The Spartans have won four consecutive bowl games, with the last two being a Rose Bowl win over Stanford and a Cotton Bowl victory over Baylor.
There’s just something about this game that people around the country don’t understand. Iowa and Michigan State have both won five games by one score or less and hold a +14 turnover margin.
Prediction: Michigan State is more of a complete team than Iowa has faced this season.
“We played well enough to win this game”, Lewis said. “There’s a history of what we do and what they do”. “They’re going to play the full 60, and they’ll take it into overtime if they have to”. But sadly for Michigan State and Iowa, a loss on Saturday would likely take them out of the top-5, and Ohio State who is idle this weekend is nearly certain to move up into the No. 5 spot no matter who wins or loses on Saturday.
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Physicality and toughness are consistent elements of these programs, and of the discussion of this game. Overall, the Big Ten Conference received nine bids to the NCAA Tournament. That’s how it’s been. This team’s strength is the interior of the offensive line, Tressel said, with fullbacks who “get after it”.
