Michigan State is 11-1 while Iowa is a flawless 12-0.
Advertisement
Clemson is still No. 1 and Alabama remained No. 2. Maybe that’s why Ferentz and Dantonio repeated those values on the Big Ten teleconference Sunday. Kickoff is at 7:17 p.m. (CT) on FOX from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
All of Michigan State’s “fat guys” are giving their team another degree of hope heading into Saturday’s Big Ten championship game against Iowa.
The Spartans come into this weekend’s matchup having won at least 11 games for the fifth time in their last six seasons, something only four other FBS teams can claim: (Alabama, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, and Oregon).
Connor Cook returned from a shoulder injury to help clinch the Big Ten East championship in a blowout against Penn State. “You could see that transformation year to year”, offensive tackle Andrew Nelson said, “to the point now where, you’re in practice and you’re going up against Carl, you’re saying, ‘Oh, no, I’ve got Carl now.’ He’s a great player, and it’s a credit to his mentality”.
“The fact that I think that most of the discussion and debate was above them and below them would indicate that their position at three was pretty solid with the committee” this week, Long said of the Sooners.
“We built this program to a point where those are our goals now”, 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.
“We’ve got a big challenge on our hands”, Kirk Ferentz said. Ferentz was on the hot seat entering the 2015 season after a dismal conclusion to the 2014 season (a season that was part of a several year malaise at Iowa) and Iowa was generally picked to finish around 4th or 5th in the Big Ten West and projected to go around. Also, last season, just two Buckeyes were selected on the all-Big Ten team: quarterback J.T. Barrett (coaches and media) and Elflein (coaches).
“We feel we had a great opportunity to win this basketball game and it slipped away”, Willard said. “But we’re probably doing everything a little bit better right now”. The Spartans and Hawkeyes each finished with turnover margins of plus-1.17 per game, tied for the Big Ten lead and fourth in the nation. 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. It’s the recipe that sometimes doesn’t get enough national recognition, even when it should. The Hawkeyes are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as the betting underdog but just 3-7 SU over that stretch.
According to ESPN, the Rose Bowl isn’t obligated to take the loser of the game and could very well pass on the loser, if Ohio State leap frogs them in the final standings. I’m the chairman of the FWAA Freshman All-American team and select that every year, and I wait until after the bowl games – except the national title game – to put the team out. “There’s a history of what we do and what they do. The guys changed from thinking we were going to be the best defense in the country because everybody was going to do their job to decide that we’re going to be the best defense in the country”.
The victor of that should have a considerable shot at the New Year’s bowl bid allotted the Group of Five, which is the tier of conferences deemed just below the Power Five.
Advertisement
Physicality and toughness are consistent elements of these programs, and of the discussion of this game. The Big 10’s leading receiver, Aaron Burbridge (1,158 yards, 7 TDs), will be featured in this game.
