MSU's McDowell and Cox out against Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. –Malik McDowell and Demetrious Cox are out. Again.

It will be the Spartans’ third straight game to end the season without star defensive lineman McDowell as they take on against No. 8 Penn State (3:30 p.m./ESPN). McDowell injured his left foot at Illinois and has been battling rib issues for much of the second half of the season.

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Cox, a starting safety from Jeannette, Pennsylvania, also missed MSU’s game against Michigan on Oct. 29. The fifth-year senior is one of the team’s three captains.

The Spartans defeated Penn State to end the regular season and clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game a year ago, 55-16. They are now 3-8 and 1-7 in the conference, while the Nittany Lions (9-2, 7-1) entered the weekend with an outside chance to win the East Division title.

“Last year at this time, we were playing for our 11th win,” Dantonio said on his pregame radio show. “Big difference.”

The Spartans also will be without a number of other players who did not make the trip to Penn State: RB Madre London, CB Tyson Smith, S Jalen Watts-Jackson, CB Drake Martinez, FB Collin Lucas and DE Gabe Sherrod.

True freshman quarterback Messiah deWeaver did not make the trip to Beaver Stadium, which means he will redshirt.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.

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