Big Ten preview: Iowa vs. Michigan State

The victor is all but guaranteed a spot in the playoff, thanks to Notre Dame’s loss to Stanford.

For MSU, step one was winning the Big Ten East Division, step two – win in Indianapolis and step three, is to inevitably reach the national championship.

“You get out of this game what you put into it, ” Blythe said. And when the Hawkeyes win, will anyone dare pick them to win the national championship? The victor will hoist a trophy and continue their pursuit of a bigger one.

Michigan State needs to trust Connor Cook. “I knew my time would come”, Beathard said, making a comment that easily could have come from Cook. “They preach toughness and hard work and discipline and I think that’s very similar to here”. Iowa will play Michigan State Saturday for the championship.

ACC title game • Nothing is ever really easy with the ACC’s bowl setup, but the postseason implications for Clemson and North Carolina would be, if Clemson wins Saturday in the ACC championship game.

Big Ten teams occupy the Nos. Mark Dantonio has done a masterful job with a “less talented” group of players than he had a year ago and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz is the Big Ten Coach of the Year. In fact, he’s the best signal-caller in school annals who time and again has helped the Spartans find a way to win on many Saturdays when MSU didn’t play its best.

Can Cook solve Iowa’s stellar secondary?

Another bright spot has been-to no one’s surprise-the team’s penalty killing. The Hawkeyes have snatched 17 interceptions and have been opportunistic when opposing quarterbacks make bad decisions.

Ferentz, who has led Iowa for 17 years, said he was on his first recruiting trip to the Tampa area, where he “got introduced to grouper sandwiches”. November hasn’t been kind to the Spartans, who gained only two wins last month against New Hampshire. The Hawkeyes have been effective running the ball, but teams have been able to get pressure on the quarterback, which could bode well for Calhoun. Michigan State’s defense is giving up an average of 21 points per game while Iowa’s defense is giving up 19 points per game. Mackenzie MacEachern (7-6-13), JT Stenglein (7-6-13), Thomas Ebbing (2-9-11) and Joe Cox (5-5-10) have accounted for 44 percent of the team’s offense and 54 percent of the team’s goals. Beathard certainly isn’t a flashy player, but he’s smart and makes plays in many ways.

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. There’s also the “Taps and Touchdowns” event at Pan Am Plaza. Nice and low-scoring through the first half only to have Connor Cook break out in the third quarter for a big touchdown drive to start. Although he has sustained injuries, Beathard has not missed a game this season.

“In this case any one of those three might be the next-highest-ranked team, depending on what happens on Saturday”, Jenkins told ESPN.com on Wednesday. Michigan State leads the all-time series at 6-2-2, but are just 1-1-2 at Pegula Ice Arena.

The Hawkeyes have a power football offense and a technically sound defense highlighted by Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Desmond King and First-Team All-Big Ten offensive guard Jordan Walsh.