It’s kind of hard to think that the 2015 Michigan State game would have major implications for both the Big Ten title and the national championship, but here we are. Michigan football comes in with a trail of maimed bodies in its wake, and Michigan State comes in undefeated but unconvincing.
The Wolverines have 10-1 odds to win the national championship while the Spartans have 20-1 odds to do so. There hasn’t been an iteration of this game where both teams had so much on the line in a long time. It’s also symbolic of the new power structure in the Big Ten: Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State are the new big three; gone are the days of Michigan State and Ohio State being the only nationally relevant teams.