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What's at stake in Michigan State vs. Ohio State? 'It's a playoff game'

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Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio speaks to the media on Monday, Oct. 1, 2019, in East Lansing. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press

EAST LANSING — Twenty-eight players on Michigan State's football roster hail from Ohio, making Saturday's showdown in Columbus a bit more meaningful than most.

Those 28 players, which include 10 likely starters, will take on the No. 5 Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium (7:30/ABC), and only one of them, punter and Waterville native Jake Hartbarger, has played in a victory over the Buckeyes — MSU’s 17-14 upset win in 2015 that propelled them to the College Football Playoff.