Final: Alabama 38, Michigan State 0

Key play: Cyrus Jones intercepts Connor Cook in red zone to end first half

At the end of he first half in a 10-0 game, Michigan State finally got into an offensive rhythm. Cook connected with R.J. Shelton and Aaron Burbridge on back-to-back plays to get MSU in the red zone for the first time. But then, a 63-yard drive ended with an interception, killing Michigan State’s chance to make it a one-possession deficit at the half. At the very least, they just had to get something on the board. Alabama was finally on its heels and MSU couldn’t take advantage. That was the most crushing play for the Spartans since the Brandon Reilly touchdown at Nebraska. Sure, the Spartans had won their last four bowl games by overcoming double-digit deficits. But with the way Alabama was playing, you knew that climb was going to be awfully steep in the second half.

Telling stat: Michigan State’s 1.1 yards per carry

Oh, so that’s why Alabama came in as the nation’s top run defense. The Spartans absolutely couldn’t get anything going. And Mark Dantonio pulled out all the stops. Aaron Burbridge, L.J. Scott, Madre London, Gerald Holmes and Delton Williams all got looks. Dantonio even tried to catch the Tide off guard with a keeper from Cook on the first third down. That didn’t work out so well, either. Reggie Ragland and A’Shawn Robinson were even better than advertised. The entire Alabama defense looked better than advertised. If there was a missed tackle by Alabama, I surely didn’t see it. And if there was a gap to run through, MSU didn’t see it, either.

Worth noting:

-Derrick Henry didn’t look like a Heisman Trophy winner, Jake Coker did

To the surprise of everyone, Lane Kiffin didn’t pound the rock with Henry like he did all year. He stretched the field early and put Alabama’s playmakers in space to make plays. Go figure that Henry only finished the night with 3.5 yards per carry. It helped that Coker was on the money. The thought coming in was that Alabama wasn’t going to be able to expose MSU’s secondary because of the way it usually operates. But a couple Calvin Ridley touchdowns later, that wasn’t the case. Michigan State actually got some good pressure on Coker from Malik McDowell and Lawrence Thomas, but the Spartans couldn’t bring him down, and he was able to keep his eyes downfield and big up first downs. Alabama presented a scary thought for Clemson. The Tide has much more than Henry.

–Michigan State’s receivers didn’t offer much help

With the exception of Josiah Price, the Spartans didn’t get much help at all from their wideouts. Aaron Burbridge and Macgarrett Kings both had drops, which prevented the Spartans from getting in any sort of rhythm. There was a reason that Michigan State wasn’t slinging the ball deep downfield when they fell behind. It’s bad enough when four down linemen are getting pressure on Cook. For a group that hasn’t been known for getting a ton of separation, it seemed like every time Cook threw outside the hashes, there were two Alabama defenders waiting there. It’s hard to move the chains when your receivers are virtually eliminated.

What it means: The B1G still won’t be viewed as the nation’s best conference

That’s the sad, sad reality of what happened on Thursday night. The B1G’s national perception improved this season, but it would’ve moved ahead of the SEC by taking down Alabama. All of the narratives about the SEC being the dominant conference will continue because Nick Saban keeps winning. Wasn’t it nice to see that narrative put on hold for a year? Besides the conference impact, it obviously was a crushing way for Michigan State to close out the Connor Cook era. In fact, MSU hadn’t lost a game by that much since Cook became starter, nor had it been shut out since Dantonio took over. It was the first time in which MSU played scared instead of a team with a chip. That wasn’t a product of the culture that Dantonio established in East Lansing. Unfortunately for the Spartans and the rest of the B1G, it’s still Nick Saban’s world that we’re living in.