Sharp: MSU takes another step toward nationally elite status
The Spartans showed their dominance in clinching the Big Ten East division and setting up matchup for spot in College Football Playoff
EAST LANSING -- Michigan State's Connor Cook raised his hands, inspiring the Spartan Stadium crowd to scream even louder as the offense set up inside the Penn State 10-yard line. The game’s outcome already decided, the senior quarterback was already ready for the celebration.
And why not?
He had his customary center lined up as a running back.
Cook joked that he wanted to get the big crowd fired up because he had, what he called a 265-pound tailback behind him in the backfield.
Center Jack Allen quickly interjected that he was much closer to just under 300 pounds.
“I was trying to give you a compliment,” Cook responded with a Cheshire feline smile.
The lumbering lineman took the first down handoff and rolled into the end zone for the exclamation point on a Michigan State divisional championship few thought possible amid the injuries and inconsistencies.
The Spartans suffered long for this moment. They won games, but not impressively. They literally had no chance at surviving some challenging road games, but they emerged from the dust as the lone team standing. They did pretty much everything they were supposed to do. But still, it wasn’t enough.
But when dominance against an inferior foe was demanded Saturday, they mercilessly rolled over Penn State. The Spartans’ 55-16 romp clinched their third Big Ten divisional championship in the last five years. They’ll play Iowa on Saturday night in Indianapolis for the Big Ten crown and a probable berth in the four-team College Football Playoff.
There was never a better time for Michigan State to stand up and shout for all to hear: Never doubt that they’re the dominant football program in this state.
The Game might have been in Ann Arbor. But The Prize was there for the taking at Spartan Stadium.
History beat hype once again.
As the game clock ticked down, MSU coach Mark Dantonio triumphantly raised his hands in celebration. He became the first Big Ten coach ever to win 11 games five times in six seasons. And while detractors diminish that accomplishment based on teams playing fewer than 12 regular season games not too long ago, it can’t be underplayed what the man’s built here.
Dantonio said following the game that he believed the Big Ten champions should advance to what’s now referred to as the Football Four.
“We accomplished our first goal,” Dantonio said, donning a 2015 Big Ten East division championship hat. “We got to the conference championship game. We’ll celebrate this for 24 hours but then it’s back to work and get ready for an excellent Iowa team that’s unbeaten. This was an important step, but our goal is to reach higher.”
It’s another testament of Michigan State’s continued climb upward to the perennially national elite.
This game wasn’t close. Cook started after missing last week’s game at Ohio State. He didn’t even practice Thursday. And Dantonio still wasn’t sure about his senior quarterback’s availability until immediately following the pregame warmups.
Cook told him he was ready.
Not a bad effort from a quarterback with pretty much only one day’s practice. Cook passed for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps more important, he wasn’t touched once on his 26 throws. The Michigan State offensive line — much maligned through injury this season — effectively negated Penn State’s pass rush. The Nittany Lions came into the game leading all Football Bowl Subdivision teams in quarterback sacks.
“It was Senior Day,” Cook said, “and I didn’t want to miss this.”
This senior class is now the winningest four-year football class in Michigan State history with 42 victories, eclipsing the record established one year ago that broke the record established the previous season. But that’s what Michigan State’s becoming now, continually climbing another rung up the ladder in its never-ending quest for national significance.
The potential was there for a letdown but Dantonio and the senior leadership wouldn’t permit it. Michigan State finally delivered the impressive, without-a-doubt effort at home as the heavily favored.
And the Spartans wildly celebrated on the field afterward.
It was deserved. They made a huge statement. But far bigger ones await.
Contact Drew Sharp: dsharp@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewsharp. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/drew-sharp/.