Arlington, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - A glass half-full Baylor fan sees the Bears appearance in a New Years Day bowl game as an accomplishment. One with a half-empty mindset views it as a slight of the highest order. Regardless of their opinion, they will be tuning in to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 to watch the fourth-ranked Bears take on the seventh-ranked Michigan State Spartans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. While Baylor is ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, the College Football Playoff committee saw it appropriate to rank Ohio State in the final spot in the CFP rankings, with the 11-1 Bears falling in at No. 5. Since the Big 12 does not have a championship game, the conference opted to name co-champs at the end of the regular season, with both Baylor and TCU each sharing the crown even though the former beat the latter. The only blemish on Baylors record came in a 41-27 loss at West Virginia on Oct. 18, a game that saw the Bears commit 18 penalties for 215 yards -- the most ever by a Big 12 team. They recovered to win their final five games, including a 38-27 win over nationally-ranked Kansas State in the finale. Still, it was not enough, and Baylors head coach took the high road rather than complain about the process. I certainly would have liked to be in (the final four), but it didnt work out that way so what am I going to do? You know, moan and wine, Art Briles lamented, Its a decision that was made that we have no control over, so we will live with it, its what we do. We are fighters, competitors, we will live to fight another day. Its what we are doing. Bryce Petty was one of those fighters and was a finalist for all of the major quarterback awards after guiding the No. 1 offense in the country, one that averaged 58.8 points and 581.3 yards per game. The senior ranked eighth in the country with 300.5 passing ypc and produced a sensational 26-to-6 touchdown- to-interception-ratio. Corey Coleman was Pettys No. 1 target and finished with 57 catches for 969 and 10 touchdowns in nine games. Antwan Goodley, K.D. Cannon and Jay Lee all had six TD receptions, while Shock Linwood ran for 102.2 ypc and 16 scores as a sophomore. The offense justifiably gets most of the headlines, but the Bears defense ranked first in the Big 12 against the run, allowing 107.7 ypg. That usually stems from teams needing to throw after falling in an early hole, and Baylor has been able to force 24 turnovers as a result. Bryce Hager led the way with 101 tackles, Orion Stewart intercepted four passes and Shawn Oakman had one of the best seasons in school history on the defensive line. Oakman needs one sack and two tackles for loss to set the BU record in both categories. He has posted 10 sacks and 18 TFLs so far. A win Thursday would give the Bears a school-record 12 victories and improve their postseason record to 11-10. They lost in the Cotton Bowl in 1975 and 81 to Penn State and Alabama, respectively. Michigan State was also predicted to be in the title hunt, what with finishing the 2013 season with only one loss and a Rose Bowl win over Stanford. The Spartans though, dropped an early-season test at Oregon and later lost at home to Ohio State, which all but sealed their fate outside the CFP. MSU won three straight after the OSU loss to finish the season at a respectable 10-2, including a 7-1 mark in Big Ten play. Since the two setbacks were both to teams playing in the CFP, Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio figures his team is ready for another stiff test. Baylor would have, could have been in the top four in the country. Weve already played two of those top-four teams, so why not play another one, Dantonio said. When you go to a bowl game, youre always trying to move forward. You want to play the best team you can. Known for its hard-nosed defense coming into the season, the Spartans offense rose to the occasion nearly every week and set school single-season records for points (517), total offense (5,958 yards), offensive touchdowns (64), rushing touchdowns (40) and made point-after attempts (66). Jeremy Langford carried the load out of the backfield, rushing for 1,360 yards and school-record nine consecutive 100-yard games and counting. The senior accounted for 19 of a team-record 40 touchdowns on the ground. Connor Cook was no slouch under center, with the junior QB leading the Big Ten in passing (241.7 ypc) and ranking 14th in the FBS in passing efficiency (152.4). Half of his 22 touchdown passes went to wide receiver Tony Lippet, who totaled 60 receptions for 1,124 yards in his senior campaign. The defense took a slight step back this season but still ranked seventh in the FBS in total defense (293.5 ypg) and sixth in rushing defense (97.5 ypg). The opportunistic bunch forced 33 turnovers, which led to an FBS-best plus-20 turnover margin. Kurtis Drummond made second-team All American after leading the Spartans in tackles (65), interceptions (4) and pass breakups (11). Trae Wayne recorded three interceptions, while Shilique Calhoun anchored a line with 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. MSU has never appeared in the Cotton Bowl and is just 10-14 all-time in the postseason, though the Spartans have won their last three bowl games. They also hold an impressive 19-2-1 record against teams currently in the Big 12 and won their only previous matchup against Baylor way back in 1968. The Cotton Bowl was first played in 1937, and this is the first top-10 battle it has seen since 1994 when No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 7 Texas A&M. Wholesale Jerseys China.C. - Wendell Scott earned a second NASCAR first on Wednesday: He became the first African-American driver to be elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Wholesale Jersey. The deal for Emery is worth $1 million. The 31-year-old Emery had a 9-12-2 record with a 2.96 goals against average and a .903 save percentage with two shutouts during 2013-2014 with the Flyers. http://www.wholesalejerseyscc.us.com/. On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping. Jonathan Crompton made his first CFL start as the Alouettes used touchdowns by S.J. Green and newcomer James Rodgers to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 20-10 on Friday night.CHICAGO -- Fans cheered just about every time Derrick Rose touched the ball. They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. Rose scored 22 points in his long-awaited return to the United Center court to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 96-81 preseason victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. The way Rose was dominating, it was hard to believe nearly 18 months had passed since he suited up for a game in this arena. The explosiveness was back after he spent last season recovering from knee surgery, and when he wasnt finishing drives, the former MVP was hitting his free throws. As for any emotions? Rose downplayed them. "Not at all," he said. "I think Im past that, jitters and everything. For me, its just going out there and trying to compete and try to do better as a teammate and as a leader." He got a thunderous ovation during the pregame introductions and proceeded to put on a show, scoring 18 in the first half. He had the crowd chanting "MVP! MVP!" at the end of the second quarter after he froze Peyton Siva with a wicked crossover and flipped the ball in off the glass over Andre Drummond as he crashed to the floor. Rose buried the free throw to complete the three-point play. Rose hit 6 of 9 shots and was 9 for 10 on free throws over 22 minutes after missing the previous game against Washington in Rio de Janeiro because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. "He didnt look like he lost a step to me," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "He was as quick as hes ever been." Carlos Boozer added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim Noah had two points and eight rebounds after missing the first three preseason games because of a strained right groin. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Detroit with 18 points, but this night was all about Rose. "We are starting to see him find his rhythm," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "The moves, the explosion, the power, the change in directions .dddddddddddd.. thats been there all along. Now, he has better balance and (is) playing in rhythm." Rose hadnt played at the United Center since April 28, 2012, when the Bulls worst nightmare unfolded near the end of a playoff-opening victory over Philadelphia. There was Rose coming to a jump stop and crumbling to the floor with about 1:20 left in a game that was out of reach, a torn anterior cruciate ligament ending his season and sending top-seeded Chicago to a first-round exit. His recovery became a running soap opera last season, and it only escalated after he returned to practice in midseason. Should he return? Should he sit out the season? Rose and the Bulls never publicly ruled out a return, so the debate raged on. His image took a hit in some corners as the Bulls clawed their way through injuries and illnesses on the way to 45 wins and a second-round playoff exit. None of that seemed to matter on Wednesday. When the PA announcer bellowed before the game, "From Chicago! No. 1, Derrick Rose!" a deafening roar echoed through the arena. There was a loud cheer when Rose caught an outlet pass from Boozer after a miss by Detroits Drummond on the games first shot, and they were screaming again moments later when Rose scored off a feed from Noah. He added a neat layup, pumping in midair and drawing a few "oohs" and "ahs" from the crowd," and scored eight points before heading to the sideline with 3:59 left in the first quarter. It was a promising start punctuated by that brilliant move at the end of the half. It still remains to be seen how the knee will hold up once the season starts and how hell fare against stiffer competition, such as Miami in the opener. But the signs are good. "I was just trying to really be aggressive," Rose said when asked about the play at the end of the half. "Thats the way I normally play. (If thats a sign) for whats to come, I hope so. 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