The College Football Playoff doesn't officially start until Dec. 31, but the first unofficial game of the Playoff is Saturday night in Indianapolis. The No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes, undefeated for the first time in nearly a century, face the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Championship, with the winner virtually guaranteed a spot in the Playoff. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with television coverage on FOX.
Big Ten Championship 2015 live stream: How to watch Michigan State vs. Iowa online
The Hawkeyes and Spartans meet in a de facto Playoff quarterfinal. Here’s how to see it.
Iowa -- a program that has not won more than eight games in a season since 2009 -- took the college football world by storm this season. Early wins over Pittsburgh, Wisconsin and Northwestern established the Hawkeyes as a threat, and a weak Big Ten slate down the stretch fell without much of a fight. C.J. Beathard -- the first quarterback in program history to start his career with 13 straight wins as a starter -- was named second-team all-conference, but it's been Iowa's running game (averaging more than 200 yards per game) and stout defense that have been the secret to its success.
Michigan State knocked off Michigan and Ohio State to take control of the Big Ten East, and cemented a division title with a blowout win over Penn State last week. The only thing preventing the Spartans from their own perfect season was a road loss to Nebraska decided on a questionable touchdown catch. Connor Cook has again been the conference's best quarterback, more than making up for a defense still adjusting to the loss of coordinator Pat Narduzzi.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FOX
Radio: Iowa and Michigan State affiliates are available.
Online streaming: Fox Sports GO
Spread: Michigan State is favored by 3.5 points
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at The Only Colors (for Michigan State fans) and Black Heart Gold Pants (for Iowa fans).
Three big things to know
Talk to your kids about undefeated Iowa. Even the most positive of Iowa fans could not have predicted this sort of season. The Hawkeyes had gone just 34-30 over the last five seasons and looked to be on the verge of firing longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz. But Ferentz was retained and gave his program a thorough scrubbing, and suddenly the improbable success of his early years -- Iowa went 31-7 and won two Big Ten titles from 2002-04 -- returned.
What might have been. Michigan State lost Narduzzi, first-round draft pick Trae Waynes, running back Jeremy Langford and a host of others from a team that went 11-2 last season. And yet the Spartans recorded 11 wins for the third straight season and fifth time in six. Michigan State nearly went undefeated for the first time since 1952, and was derailed only by a last-minute loss to Nebraska decided on a questionable touchdown pass.
Ferentz vs. Dantonio. The Hawkeyes and Spartans have not met since 2013, a Michigan State win in Iowa City. Ferentz has won four of seven against Mark Dantonio, more than any other Big Ten coach since the Michigan State coach came to East Lansing in 2007, but Dantonio has unquestionably had more success in recent years. They play similar styles, recruit similar players and have similar demeanors on and off the sideline. It makes for a fantastic matchup.
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