?Facing the Buckeyes, who narrowly defeated Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor, defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said MSU has an advantage in the Big Ten Championship Game, given they’ve played in the game before and can prepare for the atmosphere of Indianapolis.

?“Some guys get to the Super Bowl and it’s their first time there. I think the advantage for Michigan State is that we’ve been there,” Narduzzi said. “We know what the city of Indianapolis is going to be like, we know how intense it’s going to be and we’ll be ready to play our type of football game.

?“We’ve been there.”

Junior running back Jeremy Langford rushed for his MSU record seventh-consecutive 100-yard game, rebounding from an apparent first half injury to finish the day with 134 yards and a touchdown. It’s also Langford’s second-highest rushing total during the stretch, behind only a 151-yard effort against Nebraska earlier this month.

Sophomore quarterback Connor Cook was strong on MSU’s first offensive drive of the game, completing two passes of 15 yards or more, including a highlight-reel one-handed grab for 24 yards by junior wide receiver Tony Lippett.

?The play continues a season-long renaissance for Lippett, who has 31 receptions for 383 yards — numbers that are by no means stellar, but show progress by the lengthy junior wideout with two games to play.

?“I feel pretty comfortable,” Lippett said. “I try to go out there every day in practice and find ways to get myself better and just keep my confidence up, keep being aggressive and attacking the ball. That’s something I feel like I can do and I want to keep doing it.”

On the seventh play of the opening drive, Langford capped the 80-yard offensive effort with a 15-yard touchdown run — his 16th rushing touchdown of the season – to give the Spartans the 7-0 lead.

Sophomore cornerback Trae Waynes earned his first and second career interceptions for the Spartans in the first half, as MSU held Minnesota to a lone field goal heading into halftime.

?“They’re not throwing it up on (Darqueze Dennard) side so they’re throwing it up to his side,” Narduzzi said. “We talked about making plays all year, and that’s what he did today. I’m really proud of him. That guy is a great corner and will be a great corner for the future.”

After a lackluster passing effort to close the first half, which saw MSU’s final offensive drive stall on an interception, Cook came out firing in the third quarter, once again finding a battery mate in Lippett.

Lippett caught three passes for 18, seven and 22 yards, respectively, setting up a 12-yard touchdown strike to redshirt freshman tight end Josiah Price.

?Despite struggling to move the ball on third down, Cook said the Spartans continue to prove that they’ve not reached their respective ceiling in terms of what can be accomplished, noting to the media that the best has yet to come.

?“To win a game when you’re 0-for-8 on third down, that shows you how great our offense can be,” Cook said. “We’ve got to be better on third down, but we’ve got to be resilient. We’ve been resilient all year.”

Despite being buried on the depth chart for weeks, sophomore wide receiver Aaron Burbridge was the catalyst of another explosive play for the Spartans in the third quarter. Burbridge took a jet sweep carry to the left and scurried down the sidelines for a gain of 35 yards before being tackled at Minnesota’s 19-yard line.

However, the drive would stall after Cook fumbled the football on a sack by Minnesota defensive end Theiren Cockran.

?“There were just some stupid mental errors on my part, not putting us in the best situations,” said Cook, who was responsible for both of MSU’s turnovers on Saturday. “You look at a game like this and think we could be a lot better. So, our best offensive game is still yet to come and hopefully we could get that this next Saturday.”

The Golden Gophers proved to be a difficult opponent on the offensive side of the ball, becoming just the second team this season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Spartans — the first being Nebraska on Nov. 16.

Minnesota also had several shots in the red zone quelled by MSU’s defensive attack.

The first of which came in the first half on a 14-play, 60-yard effort that stalled when sophomore defensive tackle Mark Scarpinato knocked down a third-down pass, forcing Minnesota to settle for a field goal. The second came in the fourth quarter as senior defensive end recovered a fumble by quarterback Mitch Leider at MSU’s 14-yard line to end the threat.

The Spartans now can look ahead to the Buckeyes for a shot at the Big Ten crown and a chance at the Rose Bowl, which takes place next week at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (8:17 p.m., FOX).

?Head coach Mark Dantonio said there’s considerable risk for the Spartans in playing for the Big Ten title, given that a loss might allow them to be leapfrogged by Wisconsin for a BCS bowl game.

?But even in staring down the nation’s No. 3 team with all the chips on the table, Dantonio said the Spartans don’t intend to lose again this season.

?“When you put something on the table, where it’s a win (and) you go here, you lose and you go here or whatever, it becomes very exciting and it’s gets you going,” Dantonio said. “It’s a one-and-done type of thing and I guess a week and a day from now, we’ll know whether we’re going to the Rose Bowl or some place else.”