Talk » think Ill weigh it up at the end of the season. T

Its hard to believe that two teams from the same conference havent played in four years, but thats the reality these days with unbalanced schedules, expansion and realignment.For the No. 8 Michigan State Spartans and the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers, this weekends meeting at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., will be the first since 2012. There is hardly anyone around the Big Ten that will be complaining about the fact the once-budding rivalry gets a chance to be rekindled.Prior to the hiatus, the Badgers and Spartans were busy playing in some of the most exciting games with some fairly important consequences. In 2011 alone, the teams met twice with the Spartans winning the regular season on a 44-yard Hail Mary from Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol on the final play of the game for a 37-31 victory.A few weeks later, the Badgers got the last laugh when they beat the Spartans in the inaugural Big Ten Championship game behind the play of quarterback Russell Wilson. It was a back-and-forth battle that wasnt decided until Michigan States punt return inside the Wisconsin five in the final two minutes was negated by a running into the kicker penalty.The year before, Michigan State beat Wisconsin, 34-24, with a late fourth-down touchdown pass from Cousins to B.J. Cunningham sealing the deal. There was controversy at the end of the season when the Badgers got the nod for the Rose Bowl over the Spartans despite identical records and MSU holding the head-to-head advantage.Back then, Paul Chryst was Wisconsins offensive coordinator. Now the Badgers head coach, Chryst remembers those matchups fondly.I always felt going into those game, Heres a really good football team with good players and well coached, Chryst said of Michigan State. It was a good football team and you knew it and the kids knew it. It was fun to play those games because you knew you had to be on and you knew youd be challenged. I think we knew each other well.I think what it was mostly, or as much was those games meant something.It will mean something again this time as Michigan State (2-0) and Wisconsin (3-0) are both ranked in the top 11.The Spartans (2-0) are riding high after last weeks win over Notre Dame and relish the chance to get off on the right foot in the conference against a highly ranked opponent.You should get excited for the opportunity, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. I think the storylines around it -- being the Big Ten opener, the history with Wisconsin, the fact that of where were at as a program right now, where theyre at -- it all points towards this being a very, very big game, probably bigger than last week. No doubt bigger than last week.Its bigger because a loss in the Big Ten can make it much tougher to get to the conference championship game. Thats especially true for Michigan State, which must get the best of Ohio State and Michigan in the East Division, though Wisconsin has no easy road, either. After taking on the Spartans, the Badgers get Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska in successive weeks.That means theres little margin for error beginning this week.I think the out-of-conference schedule is just what it is, Dantonio said. You can lose them, still recover and play and win a Big Ten championship. You start playing a little bit more for real I think in terms of understanding that these are the things that lead you to rings, big bowl games, playoffs, those type of things.When youre playing in-conference, you get into your division, the chips just get a little bit bigger. But thats the way its always been here. The more you win, the higher the chips get, the more its on every single game. Its just the nature of it.Michigan State will play for the bigger stakes with an offense that is riding high while Wisconsin (3-0) comes in with plenty of questions.The Badgers have had trouble scoring consistently and could be without senior running back Corey Clement (ankle) for a second straight game. And Chryst hasnt committed to a starting quarterback after replacing fifth-year senior Bart Houston in the second half against Georgia State with redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook.Both have to be ready to play, to be sure, Chryst said. Im positive of that. Both have to go. I told them there are going to be games where theyre both going to play.We need both of them to keep growing and go for us. Ill let the week determine all this stuff, with whos going to play running back, whos going to play left guard, whos going to play quarterback, whos going to play receiver, whos going to be the nickel corner.Nike Air Max 270 Sale Outlet . 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Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks.Most of his GWS Giants teammates are finals debutants but dont expect even a less-angry Steve Johnson to nurse them through September.Veteran forward Johnson played finals in nine of his 14 seasons at Geelong, but only five other men on the Giants list have experience of September action.I dont think they need to be babied through it, Johnson said on Wednesday.They are big boys and I think they are more than capable of playing good footy at this level.Asked whether lack of finals experience could help or hinder the Giants, Johnson said: Im not too sure, only time will tell how were going to deal with the pressure.Infamous for his frequent trips to the tribunal in previous years, Johnson appears to have mellowed in 2016 with no disciplinary blemishes against his name.Ive had a few little slip ups in the past few years, Johnson conceded.(Giants forward) Devon (Smith) actually said to me last week `youve been this far, please dont get suspended now on the eve of the finals.But I guess I havent been as angry as much this year and Im just enjoying my footy, so hopefully that continues.Johnson has been a big hit at the Giants, kicking 43 goals, second at the club to Jeremy Cameron (49).Asked if his record this year had vindicated his decision to keep playing after being released by Geelong after last season, Johnson said: I hope so, Im not the one that adjudicates on whether thats right or wrong.ddddddddddddBut Ive been happy enough to come up here and hopefully Ive played a small role in helping to get where we are now.He remains undecided about whether to play on for one more year or move into coaching in 2017.I think Ill weigh it up at the end of the season. Theres more important things to worry about than whether a 33-year-old is going to go on another season, he said.Another distinguished long-serving small forward, AFL games record-holder Brent Harvey now finds himself in a similar situation to Johnson last year after North Melbourne opted against renewing his contract.I wanted to come here because I thought it would help transition into coaching and that was part of the reason why I come here, Johnson said.Ive been happy about that, but really its up to what his (Harveys) motivation is going forward.While some players and clubs have criticised the bye week before finals, Johnson joked: At my age I really like the week off. ' ' '