No. 3 Michigan State Will Play No. 2 Alabama In The Cotton Bowl
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - After a thrilling comeback from Michigan State to beat the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes 16-13, the Spartans look to their next opponent.
And how that plays out on Selection Day is this:
No. 3 Michigan State will play No. 2 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl and No. 1 Clemson will go up against No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl both games will be on Dec. 31 - exact game time to be announced.
The Cotton Bowl takes place in Arlington, Texas and the Orange Bowl will be played in Miami, Florida.
In another thriller, Saturday night Connor Cook led the Spartans (12-1) on a 22-play drive that set up Scott's 1-yard run. A half-dozen Iowa defenders tried to stop Scott, but he wouldn't be denied.
L.J. Scott kept lunging forward, stretching the ball over the goal line for a touchdown with 27 seconds and No. 5 Michigan State edged No. 4 Iowa 16-13 Saturday in the Big Ten championship game.
The winners will play for the national championship on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Arizona.
Alabama and Clemson won conference title games on Saturday night and held their ranking. Michigan State handed Iowa its first loss in the Big Ten title game to move into the playoffs, while Oklahoma had already completed its season and held on for the final playoff spot.
Alabama and Michigan State have been to the Cotton Bowl before, and not too long ago.
This time, the teams will be at AT&T Stadium to play each other in the college football playoff semifinals on Dec. 31.
The Big Ten champion Spartans completed last season on New Year's Day playing in their first Cotton Bowl. The SEC champion Crimson Tide opened this season with a victory over Wisconsin at the stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
The matchup is just the second between the teams. Alabama beat Michigan State 49-7 in the 2011 Capital One Bowl.
Alabama's Nick Saban was the coach at Michigan State from 1995-1999 before leaving for LSU, the Miami Dolphins and moving on to Tuscaloosa in 2007.
Clemson goes into the playoffs as the only undefeated team.
Michigan State moved up two spots to No. 3 behind Clemson and Alabama in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday.
In a side note:
Michigan will play in the Citrus Bowl against the Florida Gators on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. in Orlando.
And on bowl selection day, Georgia chose a coach.
The Bulldogs hired Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart on Sunday, hoping he can accomplish what has been routine for the Crimson Tide but eluded Mark Richt during his 15 years between the hedges: Win a national title.
Smart was formally approved as Richt's successor during a meeting by the Georgia athletic association executive committee.
Smart played at Georgia in the 1990s and has been Nick Saban's defensive coordinator at Alabama since 2008.
Smart was expected to remain at Alabama through the playoffs, though Saban would surely carve out time for him to handle some of his new duties at Georgia.
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