Cotton Bowl 2015: Baylor vs. Michigan State Schedule and Early Predictions
The No. 5 Baylor Bears' championship hopes ended when Ohio State jumped them for the final College Football Playoff spot, but they will have a chance to stick it to the Big Ten in the Cotton Bowl against No. 8 Michigan State.
Art Briles' Baylor squad will be downtrodden after being snubbed, but the opportunity at hand in the Cotton Bowl won't be lost. If the Bears convincingly beat a Michigan State team whose only two losses are to Oregon and Ohio State, folks will wonder even more whether Baylor should be vying for a championship.
Two of the best teams from two Power Five conferences will go at it in a thrilling matchup, per College GameDay:
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You may have to wait until New Year's Day for one of the most exciting college football showdowns of the year, but that doesn't mean we're going to wait to break it all down. Take a look below.
2015 Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 8 Michigan State
When: Thursday, Jan. 1
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Start Time (ET): 12:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
The Book on Michigan State
When your only two losses are to teams in the final CFP Top Four, it's easy to validate a spot in the prestigious Cotton Bowl.
People wondered whether the Spartans would pay for their dicey nonconference scheduling of Oregon by being left out of a major bowl game, especially after they fell to Ohio State in a November game that, in retrospect, likely would have put them in the playoff.
But thanks to Week 15 going somewhat according to plan, they remained in position for a strong at-large bid.
Michigan State's defense has remained its calling card under defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, but a multifaceted offense makes the Spartans elite. Connor Cook has 2,900 passing yards on the year and 22 touchdowns, while Jeremy Langford is one of the Big Ten's best rushers with 1,360 yards and 19 scores.
From the Spartans defense against Baylor's prolific offense to Cook and Langford against a hard-hitting but susceptible Bears defense, the matchups are plentiful, as Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman analyzed:
While formidable, Michigan State's defense has been far from dominant against strong offenses—particularly against the pass. J.T. Barrett and Marcus Mariota each threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Spartans.
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty isn't made from the same mold as Barrett and Mariota, but he possesses more weapons on the outside that allow him to carve up secondaries. If the Spartans defense performs against Baylor like it did against those two elite quarterbacks, the results will be similar.
The Book on Baylor
A handful of teams in the New Year's Six games feel like they should be in the four-team playoff, but none will feel quite as disheartened as Art Briles' Bears.
They notched the big win they thought they needed to sneak into the Top Four, throttling then-No. 9 Kansas State by double digits Saturday to clinch a share of the Big 12 title for the second straight year.
After that, their efforts were focused on claiming that their head-to-head win over TCU reigned supreme, but it ended up not mattering. The Bears finished fifth in the final CFP poll, ahead of TCU, but Ohio State jumped them due to its 59-0 drubbing of Wisconsin.
Finishing over TCU in the final poll did, however, allow the Bears to head to the Cotton Bowl. And an appearance in the prestigious bowl had Briles and Co. excited despite the CFP snub, per Baylor Football:
Petty is one of the nation's most prolific passers, having thrown 26 touchdowns on the year and surpassing 300 yards on five occasions. His heroics have resulted in Baylor scoring at least 27 in every game this season and 40 or more in nine of 12 contests.
The defense has been solid at times but far from formidable, allowing 40 or more points three times this season. Michigan State will be licking its chops after scoring 34 or more in seven straight games—including the loss to Ohio State.
The biggest question for Baylor, however, is its mindset.
Will the Bears emerge from their snubbing with a chip on their shoulder? Will they use the national spotlight to prove to everyone why they belonged after all? Or will they pack it in and fail to fight?
As we've seen before, championship-caliber teams can lose their grit after coming up short, thus being trounced by similarly skilled foes.
If the Bears want to avoid allowing the CFP committee to pat itself on the back, they will have to make a convincing statement. And if they do, doubts about the committee's decision will continue to grow.
Prediction
The sour feelings will eventually subside in Waco, Texas, and the Bears will get up for a big-time Cotton Bowl game that will have the selection committee thinking about its decision.
Petty will find offensive success hard to come by early against a stingy Spartans defense, but Michigan State will eventually break and allow a couple of big plays, as it did against Oregon and Ohio State. Cook and Langford shouldn't have a problem putting up points to match throughout halftime, but the Bears' quick touchdown drives will eventually take a toll.
Prediction: Baylor 34, Michigan State 26
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