ARLINGTON, Texas – Of all the motivational imagery at Mark Staten’s disposal, he chose a clash of titans to depict what Michigan State can expect when it faces Alabama in the College Football Playoff and how it must play.
By downloading “The Fight of the Century” onto every Spartan offensive lineman’s iPad and quizzing his charges on the classic 1971 brawl between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, MSU’s offensive line coach has provided the backdrop for what could a watershed event in school history.
“As a college football player, you want to be on a stage as big as this one is,” Staten told MSUSpartans.