CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Looking at the schedule back in August, Michigan State-Illinois was not a game many people would have guessed would pit a pair of 2-6 teams against each other.When the teams meet on Saturday, theyll bring identical records to the field, along with losing streaks and injury problems that might make them look a lot alike.Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and Illinois leader Lovie Smith even sound a little alike in diagnosing their seasons so far.Obviously, were not where we thought we would be at the beginning of the season, Dantonio said. We are playing a lot of young players, going through some injuries, different things of that sort.Smith offered similar thoughts on his team this week: We want our team to play to the best of its ability every week. That hasnt happened. ... Weve won two games. Thats who we are right now.Michigan State (0-5 Big Ten) and Illinois (1-4) have some key differences, too. Here are some things to keep an eye on when they meet Saturday:AT QUARTERBACK?Neither team is settled at quarterback.Illinois starter Wes Lunt hasnt played in almost a month and second-stringer Chayce Crouch is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Smith doesnt discuss injuries ahead of a game, but there is a chance that redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr. will see his third straight start. He was 16 of 34 for 56 yards and a touchdown in last Saturdays loss to Minnesota, modest numbers but an improvement from his first start at Michigan.The Spartans lost Brian Lewerke to a broken leg against Michigan, leaving them with fifth-year senior Tyler OConnor and junior Damion Terry.While Michigan State has an edge here in experience, Dantonio doesnt sound so sure.The quarterback position is a little bit in flux there, I would say. When the quarterback situation is in flux whether due to injury or production, you know, theres going to be inconsistency, he said.RUN GAMESBoth Illinois and Michigan State rely on the run, and their production is remarkably similar -- the Illini average 163.1 yards a game, the Spartans 163 .But there are differences, and they favor MSU. The Spartans ran the ball for 217 yards last Saturday against Michigan, a defense thats giving up just over half that on average and is ranked second in the Big Ten. When Illinois went to Michigan two weeks ago, the Illini managed just 77 yards on the ground.MICHIGAN TESTOther aspects of their games against Michigan illustrate the differences between the two-win teams.The Illini, in Georges first start, lost 41-8. They trailed 21-0 at the end of the first quarter and were never in the game. The Spartans were down by 17 at halftime but pulled within a touchdown in the fourth quarter before falling 32-23.I think weve had an opportunity to win every single game weve played, Dantonio said.WHATS AT STAKEThe loser on Saturday will have no possibility for six wins, bowl eligibility and will finish with a losing season. For Illinois, it would the fifth losing season in a row. Michigan State hasnt had a losing season since 2009.LOVIES SITUATIONFormer NFL coach Smith is in his first season at Illinois, hired to rebuild the program. But he spent part of his week denying that there was any truth in an ESPN.com report based on anonymous sources that hes unhappy enough at Illinois to leave after a single season.Am I happy right now with where we are? No, no one on our football team is happy where we are right now, Smith said. My time in Champaign, its a little bit bigger that just where we are right now.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP----More AP college football: www. collegefootball.ap.org Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Hurricanes Jerseys China . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Match factsDecember 16-20, 2016 Start time 9.30 local (0400GMT)Big PictureEngland might feel like the guy sighing in relief when he hears the bar keep yelling last call. Theyve tried hard to keep up in unfamiliar surroundings, lost players to a schedule that packed five Tests into six weeks, given up their hold on the Anthony de Mello Trophy, and cant be faulted if they are left with nothing more than the desire to go home. Counting the series in Bangladesh, theyve been on tour since early October. With one win, four losses, debate over the quality of their captain, suggestions they have fielded lopsided XIs, injuries - James Andersons soreness being the latest - irritation from the coach over their tactics, and later at the medias antics, this was one awful bender.India, on the other hand, may feel kinship towards those who go boo when told the pub is shutting down for the night. Virat Kohli is in such form he could start playing trick shots to each ball. R Ashwin cant help but pick up wickets. The batting line-up stretches to No. 9. The bowlers are relentless. All of that has been amplified by home conditions. In Chennai, they stand a chance at equalling the most Tests theyve ever won in a series - four, against Australia in 2013 - even a draw would take them to 18 matches without a defeat. No Indian team has reached such heights in 84 years of Test history.There is one more protagonist in play: the city. It was only at the start of this week that Chennai was laid waste by cyclone Vardah.Form guideIndia WWWDW (completed matches, most recent first) England LLLDLIn the spotlightKarun Nair has not had the kindest introduction to Test cricket. He has had to hang around on the fringes since the Sri Lanka tour last year, and his extended run in the XI may well be the result of Ajinkya Rahane - who spent a lot longer waiting for his first gig - and Rohit Sharmas injuries. Scores of 4 and 13 - not to mention dropping a catch in the fourth over in Mumbai and then watching the reprieved Keaton Jennings make a century - indicate he has not made the most of his opportunity. Hell be eager to set that right should he get another go in Chennai.Since his century in Rajkot, Moeen Ali has not made the kind of contributions that befit his talent. His strokes appear effortless, which look nice when the ball flies off the middle and particularly ugly when it is mistimed. His showing more care at the start of the innings might not be too bad an idea. Hes the kind of player who goes the extra yard as well. Took on a vicious workload in Mumbai, bowling 53 overs and then had to bat at No. 4. Can he sign off on a high?Team newsIndia might play successive Tests with the same XI for the first time under Kohli, unless they take thee call to play Ishant Sharma, who has rejoined the squad after his marriage last week.ddddddddddddIndia (probable) 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Karun Nair, 6 R Ashwin, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Jayant Yadav, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant SharmaEngland will likely hand a debut to left-arm spinning allrounder Liam Dawson. They are also waiting on Stuart Broads fitness - he injured his foot in Visakhapatnam and has not played since. He underwent a fitness Test on Wednesday and was scheduled for another on the eve of the Test.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Stuart Broad/Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jake BallPitch and conditionsCan the behaviour of a pitch that has been through a cyclone and had to be dried by hot coals be predicted? Clearly there was concern over the amount of moisture there was in it. So the ball could seam around. It is Chennai though, the hometown of R Ashwin, so there will be plenty of spin. The rains have subsided, and it was sunny again on the eve of the Test before becoming a bit cloudy in the evening. Considering the work that has been put in by a dedicated groundstaff to make sure the match happens, the first ball could carry more far more meaning than the last.Stats and triviaEngland have played eight Tests in Chennai, winning three and losing four. India, meanwhile, have won 13 out of 31 matches at the venue.Kohli has 640 runs from four Tests in this series, 135 more in Chennai would give him the record for most runs by an Indian in a series, beating Sunil Gavaskars tally of 774 against West Indies in 1971.Ashwin has 27 wickets so far, with nine more he could record the best haul by an Indian bowler in a Test series. BS Chandrashekar took 35 against England in 1972.Alastair Cook needs two more runs to become the 10th batsman in Test history to 11000 runs.QuotesThis will be my 140th game and Ive never played a in a game when we havent had nets before. But sometimes you do have to remember what happened in the cyclone, when people unfortunately lost their lives. So a net session the day before doesnt seem quite as important after what people have gone through. Englands captain Alastair CookI dont think we are looking at a collective series as 4-0. For us every game is separate from the other and the intensity and the motivation to win a Test match remains the same, whether we have won the series or havent won the series, or its drawn.Indias captain Virat Kohli ' ' '