At the start of the season many of us expected to be predicting this game, while others (myself included) weren’t so sure.
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Translation: With a Big Ten Championship loss, the Hawkeyes could be the next-highest-ranked Big Ten team after Michigan State, and yet the Rose Bowl could conceivably pick 11-1 Ohio State for the coveted spot. The consolation prize might not be too bad, though: A possible trip to Pasadena, California for the Rose Bowl. Three weeks later, Cook’s 332 yards and 2 TDs helped Michigan State knock off Stanford in Pasadena.
“This is something we’ve been working on all along and a lot of guys have been doing this since they were five or six years old, ” Michigan State’s senior center said. But Michigan State has superior athletes and a quarterback who is 33-4 as a starter and was the MVP of this game two years ago. The junior doesn’t have all the gaudy numbers. But make no mistake, Michigan State is here.
Iowa is making its first Big Ten championship game appearance…. There’s no question that he “exceeded expectations” and has engineered a remarkable turnaround from last season, but he’s also successfully navigated a lot of pressure in the later stages of the season – it’s not easy to go 12-0, but Iowa was able to handle the increased pressure and expectations (not to mention the distractions) that came with their ever-increasing success this season – and still stick the landing for a ideal regular season.
“These are things we work on all year long, really, from the beginning of February all the way through pretty much”, Dantonio said.
As for a glimpse into the future, a true eight-team playoff would require four, quarterfinal games before the two semifinals we already have in existence.
Jim Delany is not a smoker, but no one would blame the Big Ten commissioner if he lighted a cigar at 8:17 p.m. ET Saturday in Indianapolis.
The conventional wisdom is that the title game Saturday night is essentially a play-in for one of the four precious spots in the second College Football Playoff. In 2015, Sudfeld has passed for 3,184 yards and 24 touchdowns, as he led IU’s Big Ten-leading pass offense.
Dantonio appreciates what King has contributed while leading the Iowa defense.
Senior quarterback Connor Cook has been the face of this program for these past three seasons, taking over not long after the 2013 campaign began and engineering one big, program-defining win after another while establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. This Saturday will mark the third time that the Spartans have played in Indianapolis for the Big Ten crown.
Very impressed with their quarterback, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. Iowa’s C.J. Beathard just wins. Iowa, while not having to play MI or Ohio State this season, has won six games that were decided by 10 points or fewer. He has started all 12 games in 2015 and has 21 starts in his two seasons. For Michigan State, it’s TE Josiah Price on offense and Craig Evans on defense. “I think that’s been the tradition of this game for five years now”. “But no matter what happens, it won’t diminish what both teams have accomplished”. We’ve moved forward. But I think there are still things out there for our football team to accomplish.
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It’s the scene he’s painted for his players since they were impressionable high school recruits.
