West Division champ Iowa (12-0, 8-0) is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision and, along with Michigan State, was one of five FBS teams with multiple road wins over ranked foes. Follow the action here with live updates throughout the game by Geoff Robinson of The Detroit News.
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No one had Iowa playing in this game in the beginning of the year, and perhaps even in the middle of the year despite beating Wisconsin, and they certainly didn’t have the Hawkeyes being undefeated with one game away from a playoff berth.
Las Vegas odds makers now have Michigan State favored by 3, with the over/under total set at 49.
Iowa enters the game at 12-0, while the only blemish on Michigan State’s 11-1 resume is a 39-38 loss at Nebraska on November 7.
There are huge College Football Playoff implications in tonight’s Big Ten Championship football game featuring the Michigan State Spartans vs Iowa Hawkeyes on Fox Sports live TV and Fox Sports Go live streaming.
“It’s great for interest in the sport”.
“I can’t imagine whoever wins this game not being the playoffs”, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Really, what happens is, things get decided on the field”.
QB QUOTIENT: Connor Cook is the first Michigan State quarterback to earn first-team all-conference honors in 50 years. And if Iowa manage to rattle him, it’s going to be hard for the Spartans against a defense that has allowed just 18.7 points per game this season.
Player of the game: When he’s motivated and locked in mentally, there aren’t many defensive linemen in the nation who can impact a game quite like Shilique Calhoun. They have the opportunity tonight to change that against Michigan State.
Michigan State will go into the fourth quarter tied with Iowa at 20 apiece and it will take a touchdown pass from Cook to R.J. Shelton halfway through the final 15 minutes in order to take the lead that the Spartans would never give up. Michigan State was penalized four times for 45 yards.
As for teams ahead of the Big Ten trio, No. 1 Clemson plays North Carolina for the Atlantic Coast Conference title; No. 2 Alabama meets Florida for the Southeastern Conference championship; and No. 3 Oklahoma has won the Big 12 title.
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Bowling Green wins MAC • Travis Greene ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and Matt Johnson threw two scoring passes to lift Bowling Green over Northern Illinois 34-14 in the Mid-American Conference title game Friday night in Detroit.
