Michigan State’s secondary showing signs of improvement

“This is a magical time to be a Spartan and every Spartan fan out there should take notice as the Spartans look to “#ReachHigher” and put their stamp on the 2015 Big Ten season. Their 12 consecutive wins include 6 contests where they prevailed by single digits, all of which came against teams power ranked no higher than 29th by nERD.

Not might or could or possibly.

“I’ve always thought that Michigan State had a brand”, Dantonio said.

“You cant be 12-0 and not be good”, says Iowa fan Craig Boyle.

L is for Lucas Oil Stadium.

The Michigan State Spartans (11-1) are coming from a 55-15 win over Penn State.

Iowa has been critiqued as the accidental contender. They were very well coached, their players played very firm up front on both sides of the ball. The only loss for Michigan State was an early season hiccup of 1-point to Nebraska. For the Texas Techs, for the Pittsburghs, for the Minnesotas, for all of them who dreamed of a breakthrough like this that might someday be theirs: Go Hawkeyes.

Mark Dantonio insists he had no preconceptions about Michigan State’s brand prior to taking over the head coaching position in 2007.

“This team has done a really good job of (staying focused) right from the start”, Ferentz said. “I think that’s great to be recognized on that kind of level. I guess the playoffs are one way to solve that”. But the Hawkeyes can counter with Desmond King, the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.

Today, it is all but assured a playoff spot for the second straight year.

The No. 7 Cardinal, 10-2, was the underdog when the teams met September 19, resulting in a 41-31 Stanford victory. Barring major upsets this weekend, the Sooners will be joined by SEC champion Alabama (currently a 17.5-point favorite over Florida) and ACC titlist Clemson (5-point favorite against North Carolina). “This is still goal number one for us”.

There’s a story here regardless.

The No. 6 Buckeyes (11-1) potentially could leapfrog either the Hawkeyes (12-0) or Spartans (11-1) in the rankings for a coveted spot in the Rose Bowl. That’s how many trips Iowa has made to the Big Ten Championship.

Dantonio could have just as easily been describing Cook. “I am excited to not only help provide the continual growth and development of the student athletes academically, but also re-establish Virginia as a consistent victor with a fiercely competitive and winning product on the football field”. “That’s who we wanted to be”.

“I have to use the term ‘the best of times, the worst of times, ‘ ” Big E said of his time with the Hawkeyes. Regardless of what you do for a living, you want to try to go a little bit farther. “I just think we’re having less and less of that”.

Dantonio, who was sharing a auto with a Syracuse assistant, said he followed Ferentz around for two days.

They will let everyone else debate the hot-button issues – the national-championship picture, whether two teams from the same conference deserve to make the playoffs and which league is the nation’s best. “They preach toughness and hard work and discipline and I think that’s very similar to here”.

King filled a need with the Hawkeyes and moved into the starting lineup in the second game in 2013 as a true freshman after a hamstring injury sent Jordan Lomax to the sidelines. He really felt like [last year] that’s a grind and that’s really tough on the players.

The Spartans pissed away their undefeated season with uninspired play in Lincoln while the Buckeyes got sucker-punched at home. Michigan State and Iowa haven’t played each other since 2013, and although the Hawkeyes handed the Spartans their only regular-season loss in 2010, that game feels like a long time ago.

Iowa and Michigan State have Big Ten officials smiling at their chances to make the playoff.