Good, old-fashioned football is alive and well in the Big Ten.
And with its champion now ticketed for the College Football Playoff, any opponent better be ready for a heavyweight prize fight when the league sends Michigan State out for a battle with the national title on the line.
Both the No. 5 Spartans and No. 4 Iowa went the distance trading vicious punches, unleashing dominant defenses and putting on a vintage display of the conference’s trademark physical brand of football on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Ultimately that approach showed it can also supply the maximum amount of drama as well, with a spot in the College Football Playoff coming down to a red-zone war settled in the trenches with Michigan State fighting for the final yard that made the difference in a 16-13 victory.