Big Ten Conference Championship Game Preview: No. 5 Michigan State vs No. 4 Iowa

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

It’s been a great season in the Big Ten Conference as all the teams have battled for a chance to play in the conference championship game but now just two teams remain. The four main teams, including Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Iowa, went back-and-forth all year but after a great final weekend of the regular season, only two teams, Iowa and Michigan State, have advanced to the conference title game.

Due to the exciting way this season has played out on a national platform, the winner of the Big Ten Conference Championship Game will get a spot in the College Football Playoffs with a chance to compete in the National Championship on Dec. 31th.

Team Overviews

Iowa is coming into this game undefeated at 12-0 with their best wins coming at Wisconsin (10-6), at Northwestern (40-10), and at Nebraska (28-20). The Hawkeyes did not play Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State in the regular season.

Michigan State is coming into this game at 11-1 with their lone loss coming on the road at Nebraska (39-38). Their best wins of the year both came on game winning plays as the Spartans returned a punt for a touchdown as time expired against Michigan winning 27-23 and then kicked a field goal with three seconds left to win 17-14 on the road at Ohio State.

Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State scores 33 points a game on average by using their balanced offensive attack. The leader of this team is senior quarterback Connor Cook. The senior signal caller has thrown for 2,730 yards with 24 touchdowns despite missing one game due to injury. The leading rusher for the Spartans is freshman LJ Scott who has 618 rushing yards and has ran for 10 touchdowns. Senior Aaron Burbridge is the leading receiver on Michigan State. Burbridge has caught 75 passes for 1,158 yards with seven touchdowns.

The Spartans give up just 21 points per game and look to put on another defensive show against Iowa. The leading tackler of the defense is junior linebacker Riley Bullough who has 90 tackles including six for a loss and four sacks. Bullough is also tied for second on the team with two interceptions. Senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun has 39 total tackles this year and leads the team with 8.5 sacks. Sophomore safety Montae Nicholson leads the Spartans with three interceptions and has 69 total tackles this season.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa also uses a balanced offensive attack to score on average 34 points a game. Junior quarterback C.J. Beathard is one of the leaders of this Hawkeyes offense and has thrown for 2,354 yards with 14 touchdowns. Senior Jordan Canzeri is the leading rusher on the team with 964 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The leading receiver for Iowa is junior Matt VandeBerg who has caught 59 passes for 625 yards and three touchdowns. Another player to watch is tight end George Kittle who has caught 18 passes for 264 yards but leads the team with six receiving touchdowns.

The Hawkeyes are holding the opposition to 19 points per game with only one opponent scoring over 30 points; Minnesota – 40-35 on Nov. 21. Sophomore linebacker Josey Jewell is the leading tackler on the team with 111 total tackles including 7.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Nate Meier leads the team with 6.5 sacks and has 71 total tackles including 10.5 for a loss. Junior defensive back Desmond King leads the team with eight interceptions and has 61 total tackles this season.

Both teams play great defense and so it will be interesting to see which offense can break through and score some points. Who will win this highly anticipated matchup claiming the Big Ten Conference title and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoffs? Only time will tell.

Prediction: Michigan State 27, Iowa 20

Game Info

Kickoff: 8:17 p.m. ET

Coverage: FOX

Line: Michigan State -3

Photo credit: huskercorner.com; Michigan State QB Connor Cook looks for a receiver down field.