By JAMES ALLAN
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game pitting the University of Iowa against Michigan State may be just another game on the schedule, but it carries a little more significance.
The No. 3/4 Hawkeyes will battle the fifth-ranked Spartans in front of a sellout crowd of 66,700 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy on the line.
The contest is also a de facto College Football Playoff quarterfinal game. Iowa was No. 4 in Nov. 24 CFP rankings; Michigan State was fifth.