Iowa took its first lead on Marshall Koehn’s 43-yard field goal at 13:28 of the second quarter and was on the verge of adding more when Demetrious Cox came up with an interception in the end zone to stem the drive.
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FOX 17s Mitch Fick is in Indianapolis for the game and will have live reports on FOX 17 News. The game is airing on FOX.
On the season, the Michigan State Spartans average 239.8 yards in passing and 159.6 yards in rushing.
Maybe it’s the Hawkeyes who should be clamoring about disrespect.
Top-ranked Clemson will also be among the four after it took out the Atlantic Coast Conference title by defeating North Carolina, and Stanford claimed the Pac-12 championship with a win against Southern California.
But for both programs – known more in recent years for basketball rather than football teams – this is a chance to cement their place within the four-team College Football Playoff bracket. Suddenly, when they did trail in a fourth quarter, by 9-6 to No. 5 Michigan State, they disliked it so much that they let it linger for only one play. So did Jim Harbaugh and MI.
That marquee win to propel them into the playoff won’t come easy, however, as the Spartans are no slouch.
Next possession, Michigan State converts a big third down, and drove deep into Iowa territory.
“We were confident up the last play we would make a stop”, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
While they went separate ways, the pair could have been teammates. Cook returned strong last week against Penn State and threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s got some good size, he’s got speed, everything you want in a cornerback”, Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook said. Iowa’s 2015 recruiting class was ranked 51st in the nation by Scout.com, right between Syracuse and Rutgers.
Allen, whose younger brother Brian is a Michigan State sophomore and will start at left guard against Iowa, was a two-time IL state wrestling runner-up before winning the Class 3A state title at 285 pounds in 2011 while competing for Hinsdale Central.
Michigan State recovered a fumble on the game’s third play and converted it into a 23-yard field goal. They don’t win too many style points. Only two other plays gained more than 10 yards – a 13-yard completion to Josiah Price and a 10-yard rush by R.J. Shelton. “That’s who we wanted to be”.
The win sends Alabama (12-1, 8-1 SEC) to tomorrow’s Selection Sunday announcement awaiting their opponent – likely Oklahoma, Iowa or Michigan State – and their destination – either South Florida or North Texas.
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For as long as ardent Michigan State fans discuss football, they figure to discuss the drive.
