Goodyear Cotton Bowl 2015: Alabama vs Michigan State
Taking a look at who will play in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl.
The Final Four have been set, and without question the 2015 Cotton Bowl is the most intriguing of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. It’s the Alabama Crimson Tide taking on the Michigan State Spartans.
Nick Saban’s juggernaut just keeps on rollin’ along. For the second consecutive year Alabama is in the College Football Playoff, again against a Big Ten team. This year the Crimson Tide will be hoping for much different results.
Last season’s Tide squad entered the CFP with considerable traction and a resume not dissimilar to this year’s – early loss to Ole Miss, convincing SEC Championship Game victory. And then they ran into a buzz saw Ohio State Buckeyes squad that would roll through their opponents en route to a national championship. Much like last year’s team, this Alabama squad has a rather green quarterback under center, a monster tailback and a wildly talented defense.
Perhaps the most intriguing little bur that sportswriters will latch onto is Nick Saban facing off against a school he once coached for. Should the Tide win the College Football Championship, it’ll mean that Saban defeated two of his former clubs in the same season – LSU and Michigan State.
Speaking of Michigan State, Mark Dantonio has done one helluva job with the Spartans this year. When running mate Pat Narduzzi left to coach Pittsburgh there were question marks about how the Spartans would fare – after all, Dantonio had never coached a season without the Nard Dog by his side. As it turns out, it was more of the same. The Spartans’ defense was as stout as ever, and with a more mature Connor Cook under center Michigan State has boasted quite an offense.
For those who believe in fate, Michigan State surely seems like a team riding on the wings of an eagle. They won a miraculous contest against Michigan, and also downed Ohio State in a game where Cook did not play. If not for a controversial play against Nebraska, the Spartans very well could be undefeated. They’ve skinned the cat more than once this season – Oregon, Purdue and the aforementioned games – and come out nearly unscathed.
The College Football Playoff took a calculated risk by keeping its semifinal games on New Year’s Eve, but with a Cotton Bowl matchup like this it appears they gambled and won. It’s a can’t-miss Big Ten-SEC game for bragging rights and then some.