The No. 4 Iowa football team will face No. 5 Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 5.

By Danny Payne
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After a 55-16 victory over Penn State on Nov. 28, No. 5 Michigan State won the Big Ten East Division and will take on the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes on Dec. 5 in Indianapolis.

The winner of that contest will be the crowned the Big Ten Champion and represent the league in the College Football Playoff. The Big Ten West Champion was designated as the home team in Indianapolis before the season began.

The Hawkeyes finished the regular season without a loss, and the Spartans fell only once, losing, 39-38, on Nov. 7. Michigan Sate effectively won the Big Ten East with a win over then-No. 3 Ohio State last weekend in Columbus. Taking down the Nittany Lions at home turned out to be nothing more than a formality.

The Spartans entered their contest with Penn State with the Big Ten’s No. 7 total defense, giving up an average of 342.9 yards per game. Head coach Mark Dantonio’s crew entered giving up 21.5 points per game, also good for seventh.

Before Nov. 28, the Spartans averaged 31.5 points per game (sixth in the league) and 396.1 yards, good for fifth in the conference.

Quarterback Connor Cook, who is nursing a shoulder injury, is one of the Big Ten’s top-tier quarterbacks, averaging 248.2 yards per game, good for third in the league. Cook and the Spartans beat the Hawkeyes, 26-14, in Kinnick in the schools’ last meeting. In that contest, Cook, now a senior, went 25-of-44 for 277 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.

Kickoff is set for 7:17 p.m. on Fox. Follow along all week here at dailyiowan.com for all the coverage you need. We’ll have a full team in Indianapolis to give you complete coverage of the contest.

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