Michigan State Spartans Can Still Make Big Ten Championship After Nebraska Loss

Michigan State took a crushing defeat last Saturday against No. 14 Nebraska, but not all is lost for the Spartans.

The tough road of October is over.

They went 3-1 in four challenging back-to-back games. As they look to November, the road may look easy but the Spartans need to treat every game as a new challenge to make themselves compatible for the Big Ten Championship.

There are four remaining games left in the month of November for this team. It doesn't matter if they just recently plummeted down the BCS rankings. It doesn't matter that they just took a big loss from Nebraska. It doesn't matter that they beat Wisconsin two weeks ago.

None of that matters now. The last four games matter.

The future is what matters now for the Spartans. They can still make the Big Ten Championship if they win out the next four games.

Michigan State vs Minnesota

This game should be an easy win for the Spartans if they do not repeat what they did last week. If they can show up and play football to the best of their abilities, they will win.

They should be careful not to get too cocky where they slack off. One good thing came out of Saturday's loss against the Cornhuskers: the drive to win the rest of their games.

Minnesota had an impressive win over Iowa last week, but their lack of competition in the last three games against the Big Ten proves that the Spartans may be able to get the upper hand in this matchup.

If they beat Minnesota, they will not only get another win in their conference, but also in the Legends division where they are now currently tied with Michigan and Nebraska. But, their two losses placed them in third.

Michigan State vs Iowa

Hopefully, last year won't repeat itself in this upcoming matchup. The Iowa Hawkeyes defeated a No. 5 Michigan State last year 37-6 and killed their chances to play in the Rose Bowl. 

The Spartans have been known to struggle on the road this season, and they cannot afford to struggle to a loss against the Hawkeyes. It's another division game and it's a chance for the Spartans to redeem themselves from the utter crushing defeat from last year.

This may be the toughest game for the Spartans in the remaining four games.

The Hawkeyes are the same team from last year and they know how to beat Michigan State. There is a difference in the Spartans this year, however: They have a stronger and better defense.

If the defense can truly step up against Iowa and give the offense a time to light up the scoreboard, this will be a win in the record book for the Spartans.

Michigan State vs Indiana

This will and should be a blow-out by Michigan State. This is another conference game for them, but Indiana is in the Leaders division with Wisconsin and Ohio State. 

Most of the losses this season by Indiana were by double-digits. This will be the Spartans' last home game of the season, and will give them the motivation to rack up the scoreboard.

If Kirk Cousins can fire up his offense, and if the defense gives Indiana a good plummeting, this will be a light-up win for the home crowd at Spartan Stadium.

Michigan State vs Northwestern

The last game of the season for Michigan State is against Northwestern, a team that has a better offense than them. Though, Northwestern is going to have a challenge against the Spartans defense.

Hopefully, Kirk Cousins and the offense will find a way to perform a scoring win on the road in the last game. 

Northwestern is another team in the division: It's a team that Michigan has already beaten and who Nebraska faces this week. If they want to stay as a top contender for the championship, there is no doubt that this game is a must-win.

Northwestern might put up a challenge for State, but if the Spartans can go out and play their best football, this will be a nice win on the road and season-ending game.

Michigan and Nebraska Need to Lose

There is only one way the Spartans can have a clear way to the top of the Legends division, and that is for Michigan and Nebraska to lose a division game. 

Nebraska faces two tough opponents in their remaining games—against No.16 Penn State and No. 15 Michigan. For the Spartans to stay alive, Nebraska needs to lose both of these games. It will be tough for the Cornhuskers to pull of these wins, especially since both games are on the road.

If Nebraska wins, especially in Michigan, there is no doubt they will be going to the Big Ten Championship.

Michigan has a tough remaining four games, their two toughest is at home against Nebraska and Ohio State. Ohio State pulled off an amazing win over Wisconsin and they could do it again over the Wolverines, especially if it's the last game of the season. By then everything might be on the line for both teams in that final game.

If Michigan loses one game, they are likely to fall behind Michigan State and Nebraska. As a Spartan fan, Michigan beating Nebraska will probably be better.

There are four games remaining, and three contenders fight at the top of the Legends division.

Only one will make it out and play in the Lucas Oil Stadium on November 26th in the Big Ten Championship.