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Michigan State looks to keep Big Ten title hopes alive

Nov 8, 2008 - 11:21 AM Purdue (3-6) at (17) Michigan State (8-2), 12:00 pm EST

EAST LANSING, Michigan (Ticker) -- Michigan State is one game away from playing for a conference title.

Fresh off their dramatic win at Wisconsin, the 17th-ranked Spartans host Purdue on Saturday in their final home game of the season.

If Michigan State gets past the Boilermakers, it will head to Penn State on November 22 with a chance to at least gain a share of the the Big Ten championship in the regular-season finale.

The Spartans (8-2, 5-1 Big Ten) rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 11 minutes to beat Wisconsin, 25-24, on Brett Swenson's 44-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.

The win kept Michigan State in sole possession of second place in the Big Ten - one-half game behind idle Penn State.

The Spartans are 8-2 for only the second time since 1966 and the first time since 1999, when they finished 10-2. The eight-win season is Michigan State's first since 2005.

Spartans coach Mark Dantonio is hoping that senior running back Javon Ringer won't have a second straight sub-par effort. Ringer rushed for a season-low 54 yards on 21 carries last week - 117 yards below his season average heading into the game.

Ringer still leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing with 1,427 yards, giving him a slight edge over Connecticut's Donald Brown (1,406 yards).

Purdue (3-6, 1-4) is nearing the end of Joe Tiller's final season as coach and will need to win its final three games to become bowl eligible. The Boilermakers have played in a bowl game in 10 of Tiller's previous seasons.

Purdue kept alive its bowl hopes with a wild 48-42 win over Michigan last week on Justin Siller's 28-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Tardy with 26 seconds remaining.

A sophomore, Siller has taken over for senior Curtis Painter, who injured his throwing shoulder in Purdue's 17-6 loss to Minnesota on October 25.

Siller threw three touchdowns and Kory Sheets rushed for 118 yards on 30 carries and scored three times against the Wolverines.

Michigan State defeated Purdue, 48-31, last season as Brian Hoyer passed for 266 yards and two touchdowns.