The Michigan State football team needs this bowl game, if for no other reason than to change the headlines. Most have been negative and most unrelated to football since the Spartans' regular-season ending 42-14 loss to Penn State on Nov. 21.

That night, some football players got into a "small" altercation at a nightclub. And the next day, a group of them left the end-of-year awards banquet and went to a dormitory across the street, where a fight erupted with members of a fraternity who were apparently involved in the Saturday fracas.

The investigation is ongoing, but Mark Dantonio has taken action with 10 players who were identified. Running back Glenn Winston and safety Roderick Jenrette—both recipients of second chances from Dantonio for prior ...More