2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game
The 2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 5, 2015 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the fifth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game and it determined the 2015 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The game featured the Michigan State Spartans, co–champions of the East Division, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, champions of the West Division. Michigan State defeated Iowa 16–13 to win its second Big Ten Championship in three years.
History
The 2015 Championship Game was the fifth in the Big Ten's 120-year history, and the second to feature the conference's East and West division alignment. Iowa made its first appearance in the conference championship game, while Michigan State made its third appearance (L in 2011, W in 2013).
Teams
Iowa
Iowa came into the Big Ten Championship Game with a 12-0 record and a #4 ranking in the AP Poll. The Hawkeyes were led by junior QB C.J. Beathard and 2015 Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, junior CB Desmond King, who tied the school record and led the Big Ten with 8 INT.
The Hawkeyes sat atop the Big Ten West division standings wire-to-wire. They opened conference play with a hard-nosed 10-6 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, and overwhelmed the Northwestern Wildcats 40-10 in Evanston two weeks later. Iowa clinched the Big Ten West division by defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 40-20 in the home finale at Kinnick Stadium, and completed an unbeaten regular season by defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers 28-20 in Lincoln.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time after guiding Iowa to its first unbeaten regular season in 93 years.
Michigan State
Game summary
| Scoring summary |
| Quarter |
Time |
Drive |
Team |
Scoring information |
Score |
|---|
| Plays |
Yards |
TOP |
Michigan State |
Iowa |
| 1 |
11:11 |
7 |
22 |
2:58 |
MSU |
23-yard field goal by Michael Geiger |
3 |
0
|
| 1 |
5:08 |
7 |
14 |
1:49 |
IOWA |
24-yard field goal by Marshall Koehn |
3 |
3
|
| 2 |
13:28 |
9 |
42 |
4:33 |
IOWA |
43-yard field goal by Koehn |
3 |
6
|
| 3 |
4:23 |
11 |
47 |
4:49 |
MSU |
29-yard field goal by Geiger |
6 |
6
|
| 3 |
0:57 |
6 |
33 |
2:38 |
MSU |
47-yard field goal by Geiger |
9 |
6
|
| 4 |
14:49 |
2 |
85 |
1:08 |
IOWA |
Tevaun Smith 85-yard touchdown reception from C.J. Beathard, Koehn kick good |
9 |
13
|
| 4 |
0:27 |
22 |
82 |
9:04 |
MSU |
LJ Scott 2-yard touchdown run, Geiger kick good |
16 |
13
|
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. |
16 |
13 |
|
Statistics
| Statistics | MSU | IOWA |
|---|
| First Downs | 20 | 13 |
| Total offense, plays – yards | 79–365 | 51–268 |
| Rushes-yards (net) | 174 | 52 |
| Passing yards (net) | 191 | 216 |
| Passes, Comp-Att-Int | 16–33–1 | 18–27–1 |
| Time of Possession | 36:38 | 23:22 |
| Penalties | 8–80 | 5–45 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
|
See also
References
.svg.png){kind=logo}