Blue White Illustrated

Michigan State Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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P R E G A M E R E P O R T M I C H I G A N S T A T E @ P E N N S T A T E 3 : 3 0 P . M . , N O V . 2 6 E S P N MICHIGAN STATE FACTS COACH Mark Dantonio (South Carolina, '79) COACH'S RECORD 90-41 in 10 seasons; career record: 108-58 2016 RECORD 3-8 (1-7 Big Ten) RECORD VS. PSU Michigan State leads the all-time series, 15- 14-1. MOST RECENT MEETING Saquon Barkley rushed for 103 yards on 17 carries, and Chris God- win caught 11 passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns, but Michi- gan State thrashed the Nittany Lions, 55-16, on Nov. 28, 2015, at Spartan Stadium. GOOD NEWS Michigan State may only be ranked eighth in the Big Ten in rushing, but it has been coming on strong lately. Led by tailback L.J. Scott, the Spartans have sur- passed 200 yards rushing in four of their past five games, including games against Michigan and Ohio State. Scott needs only 65 yards to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. BAD NEWS The Spartans haven't had a week off since early September. Their open date was in week two, in be- tween nonconference games against Furman and Notre Dame. DID YOU KNOW? With a victory on Saturday, Dan- tonio would become only the third opposing coach to win three consecutive games at Beaver Sta- dium. The other two coaches are Michigan's Lloyd Carr (1997, 1999, 2001, 2006) and Iowa's Kirk Fer- entz (2000, 2002, 2004). Danto- nio guided the Spartans to victories over Penn State in 2010 and 2014. M A T T   H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M It's no surprise that Penn State's impending game against Michigan State is shaping up as a potentially decisive moment in the battle for the Big Ten champi- onship. Before the season began, a lot of people would likely have found that to be an entirely plausible scenario. The surprise is that the Spartans aren't the ones vying for a trip to Indianapolis on Dec. 3. Michigan State has been one of the East Di- vision's two most formidable teams in recent years, winning 11 or more games in four of the previous five seasons and reaching the College Football Playoff in 2015 aBer edging Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game. As recently as September, the Spartans were being hailed as playoff contenders. They had opened with wins over Furman and Notre Dame and were ranked eighth in the country in the AP and coaches' polls, with the victory over the Irish seemingly setting the stage for another strong conference season. But that didn't happen. Instead, Wisconsin 1 FINAL JEOPARDY PSU looks to finish strong, but the Spartans pose a major threat Dantonio greets Michi- gan coach Jim Har- baugh last month at Spartan Stadium. Photo by Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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