Capital One Bowl preview: Motivation might give Spartans the edge
Bowl games are all about motivation, right? Which team doesn't want to be there?
In the case of Michigan State and Alabama in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, neither one, deep inside, truly believes it should be playing in this non-BCS game.
But they're looking at it from different perspectives.
Alabama is the defending national champion with a roster filled with NFL prospects. The Crimson Tide are disappointed they're not playing for another national title. They expected much more than a three-loss season.
So they could have a little trouble getting excited when the stakes aren't nearly as high coming off their collapse against top-ranked Auburn in the final regular-season game.
Michigan State, meanwhile, is a program that appears to be on the rise. The Spartans won 11 games and tied for the Big Ten championship with Wisconsin and Ohio State.
However, they got snubbed for a BCS bid. Even though Michigan State beat Wisconsin, and Wisconsin beat Ohio State
