Big Ten Championship Game 2015: Date, Start Time for Iowa vs. Michigan State

Undefeated Iowa (12-0, 8-0) and powerful Michigan State (11-1, 7-1) will be playing for the Big Ten championship—and a lot more when they meet at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 5.

The winner of this game is likely to end up with one of the four coveted spots in the College Football Playoff and try to give the Big Ten its second consecutive national championship. Ohio State defeated Alabama and Oregon last year to win college football's first-ever playoff.

Here is a look at the date, start time and viewing information for the Big Ten Championship Game.

Date: Saturday, Dec. 5

Kickoff Time (ET):  8:17 p.m.

Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

While the Hawkeyes are undefeated, they will have their hands full competing with Michigan State for 60 minutes. The Spartans pulled off three signature wins this season, beating Oregon, Michigan and Ohio State.

The win at Ohio State was perhaps the most impressive, as the defense contained and shut down the powerful Buckeyes ground game and the Spartans came up with the 17-14 victory. That win was made even more impressive when Ohio State bounced back and overwhelmed Michigan 42-13.

Iowa did not face the same demanding schedule as the Spartans, but head coach Kirk Ferentz's team systematically took care of every opponent on the schedule en route to winning the Big Ten West.

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

The Hawkeyes have a powerful running game led by Jordan Canzeri, who carried the ball 176 times for 964 yards and 12 touchdowns. While he regularly runs between the tackles, he is capable of breaking big plays and getting to the outside. He has shown explosive speed from time to time.

Canzeri led the Hawkeyes with 17 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns in their regular-season-ending 28-20 win at Nebraska Friday.

Iowa is likely to need some explosive plays if it is going to keep pace with Michigan State. Quarterback Connor Cook has been a four-year starter and has a slew of excellent receivers in Aaron Burbridge, Macgarrett Kings and R.J. Shelton. That trio will be difficult to contain.

Cook, who had a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the Ohio State game, was back in the lineup in the regular-season finale against Penn State and threw the ball well. Michigan State routed the Nittany Lions 55-16, and Cook completed 19 of 26 passes for 248 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

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Nothing but green! Michigan State punches its ticket to Indianapolis to play No. 4 Iowa in the Big Ten title game. pic.twitter.com/4tUoujMzRz

— ESPN (@espn) November 28, 2015"

Quarterback C.J. Beathard of Iowa doesn't have Cook's consistency, but he has had a fine season. Beathard completed 184 of 303 passes for 2,354 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.

He spread his passing game around, and wideout Matt VandeBerg was his leading receiver with 59 catches, 625 yards and three touchdowns.

Iowa wide receiver Tevaun Smith said the Hawkeyes have been able to put together their unbeaten record by trying to prove themselves every week. 

"We haven’t arrived," Smith told Rick Brown of the Des Moines Register. "We don’t want to be complacent. From Game 1 to Game 12, we’ve had a lot to prove. Especially going into this game. A lot of people doubted we could win this game. That’s what keeps the train moving."

Michigan State's depth, talent and experience may give the Spartans the advantage here, but if they struggle with turnovers and penalties, Iowa could steal the Big Ten title.