(Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
Final: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
A drive for the ages from the Spartans allows Michigan State to pull out the Big Ten title and a likely berth in the college football playoff. Connor Cook finished 16-for-32 for 191 yards and an interceptions while LJ Scott rushed 22 times for 73 yards including the game-winning score. Aaron Burbridge had five catches for 61 yards to lead Michigan State. For Iowa, C.J. Beathard went 18-for-27 passing for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Tevaun Smith had five catches for 111 yards and a touchdown as Iowa fell to 12-1 for the season and likely goes to the Rose Bowl now while Michigan State improved to 12-1 for the year.
4th Quarter- Michigan State 16, Iowa 13: The epic drive ends with LJ Scott scoring a one-yard touchdown with 27 seconds remaining. A 22-play, 82-yard drive that took up most of the final quarter.
4th Quarter- :33 left: Michigan State takes a timeout facing 3rd-and-goal at the Iowa 1. This drive has lasted 21 plays and nearly nine minutes.
4th Quarter- 1:54 left: Spartans get the first down and have 1st-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
4th Quarter- 1:59 left: Michigan State has a 4th-and-2 from the Iowa 5.
4th Quarter- 2:09 left: The Spartans are ten yards away from the end zone during an epic late game drive.
4th Quarter- 4:58 left: Michigan State with the ball at the Iowa 27 now as a dramatic finish shapes up.
4th Quarter- 6:12 left: The Spartans have the ball at midfield as they drive.
4th Quarter- Fans looking at the scoreboards at Lucas Oil Stadium know that Stanford has beat USC and that Clemson has a big lead on North Carolina. The winner of this one is going to get the final spot in the playoff.
4th Quarter- 9:31 left: It will be Michigan State ball at their own 18 hoping for a better possession from Cook, who is 13-for-27 for 158 yards for the game.
4th Quarter- 12:14 left: Michigan State is forced to punt and Iowa takes over with a chance to extend their lead early in the fourth.
4th Quarter- Iowa 13, Michigan State 9: The first touchdown finally arrives as Beathard hits Tevaun Smith on an 85-yard pass play and just 11 seconds into the final period of play, the Hawkeyes take the lead.
End of 3rd Quarter: 15 minutes to go in this one with Michigan State holding on to a three-point lead. Connor Cook is 13-for-25 for 158 yards passing while Madre London has eight carries for 45 yards to lead the rushing attack for the Spartans. C.J. Beathard is 14-for-21 for 98 yards for the Hawkeyes, who are having trouble getting their run game going in this game as well.
3rd Quarter- Michigan State 9, Iowa 6: Another Geiger field goal, this time from 47 yards out and the Spartans re-take the lead with 57 seconds left in the quarter. A real battle going on.
3rd Quarter- 3:35 left: After another short Iowa punt, Michigan State has good field possession for their next possession.
3rd Quarter- Michigan State 6, Iowa 6: The Spartans are able to tie it up on a 29-yard field goal by Geiger with 4:23 left in the quarter. A old-fashioned Big Ten defensive battle continues in Indianapolis.
3rd Quarter- 11:12 left: The Spartans can’t make anything happen and this time, Iowa doesn’t commit a penalty on the punt and gets possession of their own 12-yard line.
3rd Quarter- 13:25 left: Michigan State gets to keep their drive going on a roughing the punter penalty after going three-and-out.
Halftime: Iowa 6, Michigan State 3
Michael Geiger’s 52-yard field goal attempt to end the first half hits the crossbar and is no good for his second miss of the game from that distance. A low-scoring Big Ten title game so far. C.J. Beathard is 12-for-17 passing for 93 yards and an interception in the first half for Iowa while Derrick Mitchell has three carries for 26 yards for the Hawkeyes. Connor Cook is 9-for-15 for 96 yards and an interception for Michigan State while finding R.J. Shelton and Macgarrett Kings Jr. three times each. The second half is likely going to be a much different story.
2nd Quarter- 1:49 left: The Spartans can’t take average of the turnover and punt the ball away.
2nd Quarter- 3:51 left: Huge turn of events as Michigan State gets an interception in the end zone of a deflection just as Iowa appeared to be ready to extend their lead.
2nd Quarter- 8:54 left: Geiger’s 52-yard field goal goes wide left and Michigan State can’t tie the game on this possession. Iowa ball at their own 35 with the 6-3 lead.
2nd Quarter- 11:46 left: The Spartans putting together a drive of their own, now into Iowa territory.
2nd Quarter- Iowa 6, Michigan State 3: After a solid drive, the Hawkeyes have to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Koehn with 13:28 left before halftime.
End of 1st Quarter: All tied up after 15 minutes of play. C.J. Beathard is 8-for-11 passing for 47 yards so far for Iowa in this penalty, turnover-filled game. Canzeri had rushed for a team-high 16 yards on two carries as well. Connor Cook is 3-for-7 for 45 yards and an interception for Michigan State.
1st Quarter- 2:17 left: Iowa running back Jordan Canzeri injured. It appears it is his right ankle.
1st Quarter- 3:01 left: Iowa gets a key stop after scoring and will get the ball back at their own 33-yard line.
1st Quarter- Iowa 3, Michigan State 3: The Hawkeyes tie it after getting a turnover of their own on a 24-yard field goal by Marshall Koehn with 5:08 left in the period.
1st Quarter- 6:57 left: The turnover battle is now even as Cook is picked off by Josey Jewell, giving Iowa great field position at the Spartans’ 20-yard line.
1st Quarter- 8:29 left: Iowa decides to punt on 4th-and-inches near midfield. That may come back to haunt them as this game goes on.
1st Quarter- Michigan State 3, Iowa 0: The Spartans take advantage of the turnover on a 23-yard field goal by Michael Geiger with 11:11 left in the quarter after a key 3rd-and-15 pass from Connor Cook to Felton Davis III kept the drive alive.
1st Quarter- 13:50 left: An early turning point with Iowa fumbling the ball. Michigan State has the ball at the Hawkeyes’ 27-yard line.
Pregame
The stage is set at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for this defacto playoff quarterfinal between the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes and No. 5 Michigan State Spartans for the Big Ten Conference title. This is a matchup that will features two great teams with the 12-0 Hawkeyes looking for an undefeated regular season against an 11-1 Spartans team that only lost to Nebraska late. Kickoff is at 8:17 p.m. Eastern/7:17 p.m. Central.