The first time Michigan State’s fifth-year seniors made it to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Peyton Manning was still playing for the Colts. In town for the 2011 Big Ten championship game, Spartans players crowded around the future Hall of Famer’s locker, starstruck by the No. 18 nameplate.
“I had never really been in a stadium like that,” center Jack Allen said earlier this week. “I remember everybody was taking pictures next to Peyton Manning's locker. I remember that. I was two lockers away, so, no big deal.”
Allen’s “no big deal” comment was made with tongue planted firmly inside cheek, but four years later playing in the $720 million roofed NFL stadium truly has become shrug-worthy for the Spartans.