The Michigan State defense ain't nothing to mess with.
The country's best rushing defense held Northwestern to 80 yards rushing in its 30-6 win over the Wildcats on Saturday to cement a spot in the Big 10 title game.
Scarily enough, that's triple the average the Spartans have allowed all season. But after trailing 14-6 at halftime, Northwestern wasn't able to do a single thing in the second half, as Michigan State grabbed three second-half interceptions.
And you know what? The Michigan State offense wasn't too shabby either. Connor Cook threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns while Jeremy Langford ran for 150 yards and two scores.
[Photos: Week 13 college football highlights]
Much has been made about the schedule that undefeated Ohio State has faced so far this season. The Buckeyes will likely be the Spartans' opponent on December 7, and Michigan State will help that strength-of-schedule argument significantly.
But don't take that as a rubber stamp on an undefeated season and BCS case for the Buckeyes. Michigan State is legitimate, and it wouldn't be an extreme upset if Michigan State won.
The Spartans have a perfect setup to stop Ohio State. It's the best defense -- by the statistics, anyway -- to stop Braxton Miller and Carlos Hyde on the ground and the offense's efficiency in both facets can keep Ohio State's offense off the field.
Plus, in a lackluster season in the Big 10, it's finally a matchup that we can really look forward to.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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