Michigan State Spartans Are All Business On Trip To The Cotton Bowl

When the Michigan State Spartans arrived in Dallas to prepare for the Cotton Bowl it became clear that this was a business trip.  When Mark Dantonio and his players addressed the media they expressed excitement about the opportunity to play in a New Years Six bowl game but want to stay focused on the task at hand.  Coming away with a Cotton Bowl championship.

The Spartans have a lot to play for when they face Baylor on New Years’s Day. After being in contention for the College Football playoff for most of the season, Michigan State fell out of favor with the committee after losing to Ohio State in early November. That set up a Buckeyes run that landed them the fourth seed in the College Football Playoff.  A spot that could have belonged to Michigan State had their game on November 8th gone a bit differently.

The Cotton Bowl is not just about the experience for the Spartans.  They have had plenty of bowl game trips that over the last 8 seasons. It is a chance for this group of players to redeem themselves against the #5 Baylor Bears and show the country they deserved to be in the playoff despite two loses to Oregon and Ohio State.  Both of whom are in the playoff.

The Baylor Bears will also be playing with a chip on their shoulder after a perceived snub by the College Football Playoff committee. Something the Spartans aren’t over looking as they work to regain the focus that won them 10 games in 2014.

"“The tone is it’s time to get back to business,” Dantonio said at the Cotton Bowl welcome press conference. “The tone is focus, attention to detail, and all of the different things that go with winning, and that’s what we’ve got to do.” “Now we have to dust the rust off, and we’ve got to be fresh when we play. We’ll work three hard days and ease back, make sure we have our legs back next Thursday.”"

This group of Michigan State seniors have experienced plenty of bowl success during their time in a Spartan uniform.  The Spartans have won three straight bowl games: the  Outback Bowl (2011),  Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (2012) and the Rose Bowl last season. They will need to pull from all of that experience to win the Cotton Bowl as the Baylor Bears probably represent the toughest postseason opponent the Spartans have played in the Mark Dantonio era.

2015 Cotton Bowl – Michigan State Spartans V Baylor Bears

When: January 1st, 2015

Where: AT&T Stadium, Dallas Texas

Start Time: 12:30 pm

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: Watch ESPN App