Catching Michigan State: Penn State Nittany Lions

Michigan State hasn't added a recent national championship to its repertoire, but it's still been one of the Big Ten's most successful and consistent programs since Mark Dantonio took over. The Spartans have won three conference titles since 2010, have been to nine straight bowl games and have won at least 11 games in five of the last six seasons.

So, what can other conference teams do to catch up?

All this week we're looking at that question. Not every team has a realistic shot to mirror -- or even halve -- Michigan State's success, of course. But some might be closer than you think. So, for those teams, we've decided to take a closer look and analyze just what they have to do to take a huge…