“When you start beating everybody”, Pollack said, “and you’re better than everybody else and everybody is telling you: ‘Hey man, you’re the greatest, dude, great job, ‘ you’re less inclined, human nature-wise, to push yourself”.
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The next big test comes this weekend when the fifth-ranked Spartans (11-1) face fourth-ranked Iowa (12-0) in the Big Ten championship game Saturday night. They’re a physical football team offensively, they run the ball very, very well. As Dantonio said earlier this season, he’s not selling hope to recruits-he’s selling results.
Even amid, the festive environment surrounding Lucas Oil Stadium. “We have seen good competition, the (Big Ten West) is no slouch”.
Michigan State should be able to win this game and hand the undefeated Hawkeyes their first loss. Well, if the College Football Playoff Selection Committee has any credibility at all, it is. That fact hindered the league past year when two of its contenders, Baylor and TCU, watched Ohio State leapfrog them to the No. 4 spot following a 59-0 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game on the eve of the final rankings. Michigan State comes in after winning against Penn State and Ohio State over the past two weeks, while Iowa finished the regular season with wins against Nebraska and Purdue.
“It’s great for interest in the sport”. After a three-year dip, Iowa won nine games in 2008, then made a national title run the following year. “Really what happens is things get decided on the field”. At one point in the season some were saying “Oregon isn’t Oregon”, at least before the Ducks’ turnaround. If Jordan Canzeri, Akrum Wadley or LeShun Daniels do it against Michigan State’s usually stingy defense, it could be a long day for Sparty.
Other offensive honors: Connor Cook, Michigan State, quarterback of the year; Aaron Burbridge, Michigan State, receiver of the year; Jake Butt, Michigan, tight end of the year; Taylor Decker, Ohio State, offensive lineman of the year.
“You come to Iowa to compete for championships, ” the Hawkeyes’ senior center said. Hildebrand was coming off a 13 save first period, stopping several key opportunities in the opening 20 minutes of play including a few point blank chances late in the frame.
No. 5 Michigan State prides itself on stopping the run, finishing in the top 25 nationally in rush defense five times in the last six seasons. Iowa lead the Big Ten this season with 17 interceptions, a mark that is tied for the eighth most nationally. “Their overall SOS is important, and they had a loss to a team near bottom of the SEC (South Carolina) and they played two FCS teams and that is holding them back”. While both have had nice careers in the Big Ten, neither matches Cook’s talent. That’s never been done in the history of the Big Ten. What they haven’t done, since 1966, is claim a national title.
So putting this all into perspective-the 12-0 regular season and a very real chance to be one of only four programs in the nation to be in the second ever College Football Playoff-it’s incredible to see where Iowa has been, and where the Hawks are now.
“It’s not like we’re totally different by any stretch”, Ferentz said.
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This will be MSU’s third trip to this game in five years (2011, 2013, 2015) while the Hawkeyes are making their debut appearance at the Big Ten Championship game. The Spartans, however, have won two of the last three meetings. Panthers’ head coach, Pat Narduzzi, was Michigan State’s defensive coordinator from 2007-14.
