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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A year ago, Michigan States Tyler OConnor was forced into action in what turned out to be the most significant game of the Big Ten regular season -- an upset win at Ohio State that vaulted the Spartans into the national championship race and ultimately kept the Buckeyes out.As badly as this season has gone for OConnor and his teammates, looking back at that game gives them some hope.When you go back and watch the film, its hard not to implant that image in your head about what we did against them last year, OConnor said. Well take some confidence into this game as well, but at the same time understand how good they are.Michigan State has fallen fast since last seasons Big Ten title. If the Spartans can upset the second-ranked Buckeyes this weekend , theyll merely be playing the role of spoilers in the national championship race, but that should be plenty of motivation in a rivalry thats picked up considerably in recent seasons.And speaking of motivation, Ohio State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) should have plenty of it, for obvious reasons.That was the reason why we didnt accomplish the goals that we had set for last year, so I think a lot of the guys take this game personal, safety Malik Hooker acknowledged.With star quarterback Connor Cook out injured, OConnor and Michigan State won the 2015 game against the Buckeyes on a 41-yard field goal by Michael Geiger as time expired. That ended Ohio States 23-game winning streak.It was definitely a terrible feeling, tight end Marcus Baugh said. Just disappointed we couldnt get that one. You dont want to feel that again.The Buckeyes are No. 2 in this weeks ranking from the playoff committee. A win this weekend would set up quite a showdown against rival Michigan to close the regular season.Saturdays game will be the finale at home this season for Michigan State (3-7, 1-6) -- and a chance for the Spartans to make up for at least some of the disappointments that have piled up this year.Here are a few things to watch when Michigan State hosts Ohio State:HAPPY VISITORS: The home team hasnt won in this series since Ohio State beat Michigan State in Columbus in 2007. The road team has taken all five regular-season games since. The teams also met in the 2013 Big Ten title game, which the Spartans won.HISTORY: If the Spartans are looking for some historical comfort, last seasons game may not even be the best analogy. In 1998, Ohio State was No. 1 in the nation when it lost at home in November to an unranked Michigan State team.Spartans coach Mark Dantonio was an assistant for Michigan State then. The Spartans finished 6-6.We went down and played the number one team in Ohio, at Ohio Stadium, at Ohio State, and won, Dantonio said. Didnt go to a bowl game that year, but everybody seems to remember it, so, I guess thats something.KUDOS FOR RECEIVERS: Ohio State coach Urban Meyer this week praised the work of Ohio States outside receivers. They havent had a lot of flashy catches lately but have excelled throwing blocks that have sprung H-back Curtis Samuel, quarterback J.T. Barrett and running back Mike Weber for big gains.Meyer said those receivers, mainly Noah Brown, Parris Campbell and Terry McLaurin, had their best games the past two weeks, even though the box scores might not directly reflect it.Receivers were criticized earlier in the season when the passing game bogged down, but Meyer is now lauding them for their selflessness.Ive been around men who are complete buffoons about that kind of stuff, Meyer said. When you recruit them, you hope theyre not that way. You kind of try to get in their grill and find out if theyre a selfish guy, because our objective is to win the game at all costs.FORECAST: It was windy and rainy last year when these teams met, and the Spartans prevailed 17-14. Michigan State probably wouldnt mind another low-scoring game, and the National Weather Service says it could be windy, rainy and perhaps even a bit snowy in East Lansing on Saturday.MILESTONE: Ohio States Mike Weber, who played high school football at Cass Tech in Detroit, needs 65 yards rushing to become the third Ohio State freshman to reach 1,000. Robert Smith (1990) and Maurice Clarett (2002) were the others.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Newest Chris Paul Shoes . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Cheap Basketball Shoes Free Shipping . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. http://www.cheapbasketballshoeswholesale.com/lebron-james-shoes-clearance.html . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Kobe Bryant Shoes Discount . Louis Blues absence from top spot in the TSN. Kyrie Irving Shoes Mens . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. CHASKA, Minn. -- Rory McIlroy is a big boxing fan, and he looked as if he had gone 15 rounds late Saturday afternoon as the sun set on Hazeltine National. A raging headache was surpassed only by the rage he carried around with him for 11 riveting hours at the Ryder Cup.McIlroy threw a few haymakers himself, and the celebratory uppercuts were part of an exhausting day that saw him and Thomas Pieters win two matches for Europe while also fighting the unfortunate battles with those outside the ropes.The ugliness was outdone only by McIlroys inspired golf. And when he started to wane toward the end of the day, there was Belgiums long-hitting Pieters to pick him up off the mat.After a 4 and 2 victory against Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in the morning foursomes, McIlroy and Pieters took it to Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in the afternoon, never trailing, building a 4-up lead and withstanding a late mini-rally to close it out 3 and 1.The European duo has combined for 3 of Europes 6? points, while putting up with a good bit of undesirable nonsense from a loud, obnoxious minority of spectators who for some unknown reason have taken out their anxieties on one of golfs nicest and most accomplished players.Its a tough environment for us to come play in, said McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland who now lives in Florida. We expect that. Its the same for the U.S. guys when they come to play in Europe. You have to keep your concentration out there. Its been a long day and sometimes emotions run high.McIlroy was being diplomatic while trying to carry the European team on his back -- along with Pieters, who is now 3-1 in his first Ryder Cup. If the European galleries have ever gone over the line, it has not been to the extent heard here.It was more than clear that McIlroy was agitated with the behavior of spectators who went beyond the typical partisan rooting that is common and a part of the Ryder Cup. He was heckled throughout the day, and while a good bit of it was in good fun, it became increasingly nasty as the alcohol flowed and the day became more intense.After making what was an unlikely birdie at the seventh hole of the afternoon match, McIlroy punctuated his celebration by turning toward Lake Hazeltine and letting out a howl which pierced the murmuring in the crowd. And then it got particularly unpleasant.As he walked to the 8th tee, a 300-yard journey that becomes a gauntlet as fans scream and yell from a few feet away outside the ropes, at one point, a fan leaned toward McIlroy and screamed an obscenity at him.For most of the day, McIlroy ignored the taunts. But this was impossible to put aside. McIlroy, seething, immediately stopped and pointed at the fan, called for security and continued a stare down that didnt end until a police officerr arrived.dddddddddddd McIlroy then headed up the hill to the tee, striped a 3-iron onto the green and he and Pieters won the hole to go 3-up.It fueled me a lot, he said. The more they shouted, the better we played. I hope they shout all day tomorrow.McIlroy has probably not helped matters. The best way to deal with the unruliness and crudeness is to ignore it, pretend those fans and their comments dont exist, go about the business of making birdies and posting blue on the scoreboard. Easy for you or me to say.The taunts then got personal. He was serenaded several times with Sweet Caroline, a reference to his former fiancée, professional tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. At one point, he mockingly sang along, clapping. All the while, his current fiancée, Erica Stoll, walked along inside the ropes. Yep, classy.When his approach shot found the water next to the 16th green -- helping to momentarily extend the match -- the crowd erupted as if the Vikings had just scored a touchdown in the old Metrodome.Theres nothing wrong with such partisan cheering at the Ryder Cup. But why such venom has been directed at McIlroy is beyond puzzling. This is one of the more popular, gracious players when he competes in PGA Tour events. He just won the Tour Championship on Sunday -- and the FedEx Cups $10-million bonus -- and youd be hard-pressed to find anyone at the tournament who didnt cheer that victory.Its been tough, but you have to keep your focus and concentration at all times and not let it affect you, said McIlroy, who admitted tiring toward the end and was backed up by Pieters, who birdied three of the last five holes. But, at the same time, when you play a good shot or you win a hole or you hole a putt, you want to let them know that.So as much as they are giving it to us, we are trying to give it straight back at them.The big question now is if McIlroy has anything left. Playing five matches, as he will do at this Ryder Cup along with four of his teammates, is exhausting. He left Hazeltine on Saturday evening in a bit of a daze. There was some great golf, but Pieters -- who won an NCAA title at the University of Illinois in 2012 -- offered support in the end.That wont be the case in singles on Sunday, when captain Darren Clarke desperately needs McIlroy to help the Europeans overcome a 9? to 6? deficit. McIlroy has never lost in three singles appearances, and now is not the time to start.McIlroy, who was energized by all of the emotion and adrenaline Friday, might be running out of energy at this point. But dont bet on it. As he said, the negativity has fueled him, and his production of points proves it.Hell need to punch back for one more day. ' ' '