Michigan-Michigan State this week's college football headliner

This week's surprising premier matchup in college football features two 5-0 teams from the state of Michigan.

Michigan, led by the dynamic Denard Robinson, hosts rival Michigan State (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN) in a game that potentially has Big Ten title implications.

The game will also mark the return of Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, who said during his weekly news conference on Tuesday that he plans to be in the Michigan Stadium press box on Saturday.

Dantonio suffered a mild heart attack hours after Michigan State beat Notre Dame, 34-31, in overtime of Sept. 18. Dantonio called for a fake goal to beat the Irish.

He missed a 45-7 win over Northern Colorado on Sept. 25, with offensive coordinator Don Treadwell taking over. Dantonio had planned to be in the press box last week for the game against Wisconsin, but watched the game from a hospital bed with a blood clot in his leg. Dantonio was released from the hospital on Monday.

Michigan State, ranked No. 17, and No. 18 Michigan have both been big surprises thus far. The winner stays in the hunt for the Big Ten title. Throw in the long rivalry between the two schools, and it's a game Dantonio felt like he couldn't miss.

"I'm not going to miss Michigan week. I'm not going to miss it," Dantonio said. "Something special about this week, rivalry week. It's a very special rivalry for Michigan State University, one that so many Spartans hold dear. It's one that makes this entire state very excited this entire week."

The Wolverines have one of the nation's best offenses - and one of the worst defenses.

Michigan is averaging 565 yards of total offense per game, right behind national leader Oregon's 569. The Wolverines rank third nationally with 324 rushing yards per game. Michigan is scoring 41 points per game.

Robinson, the early leader for the Heisman Trophy, has been sensational. The sophomore leads the nation with 908 yards and eight touchdowns on just 98 carries. He's also been a solid passer, throwing for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns. Robinson is completing 70 percent of his passes, and has just one interception.

If the Spartans hope to go into the Big House and leave with a win, stopping Robinson should be No. 1 on their list.

"Denard is an outstanding player," Dantonio said. "You look at the film. They have the right defense, etcetera. He makes people miss. That's what we have to do, we have to swarm a lot of people to the point of attack, get a lot of people to the ball."

Michigan State has shown nice balance on offense. Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been good, throwing for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns. But it's been the Spartans' running game that has been especially effective.

Edwin Baker has rushed for 536 yards and five touchdowns and Le'Veon Bell has rushed for 471 yards and seven touchdowns.

Michigan, which ranks 102 nationally in total defense, has been decent against the run, allowing 125 yards a game. The Wolverines, however, have the worst pass defense among FBS teams, allowing a whopping 308 yards a game.

Michigan State will need to worry about Robinson. Michigan will need to worry about Cousins and the passing game, plus Baker and Bell.

Expect a high-scoring game.

Both teams are in critical stretches of their repsective Big Ten schedules. After the Michigan State game, the Wolverines host Iowa and then go to Happy Valley to play Penn State in a night game.

Michigan State played Wisconsin last week and returns home to play Illinois on Oct. 16. But then it's back-to-back road games against unbeaten Northwestern and Iowa. The Spartans, however, don't play No. 2 Ohio State this season.

In other key games:

No. 1 Alabama at No. 19 South Carolina (3:30 p.m., Ch. 2): Top-ranked Alabama continues a rough stretch of SEC games. The Crimson Tide rallied on the road two weeks ago against Arkansas. Last week it was rival Florida in Tuscaloosa. South Carolina started out 3-0, but lost at Auburn on Sept. 25. The Gamecocks have had two weeks to prepare for this game. South Carolina has had success with true freshman running back Marcus Lattimore (366 yards, six touchdowns). But Alabama shut down Arkansas' Ryan Mallett in the second half and then completely shut down Florida last week.

Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (3:30 p.m., Ch. 4): Notre Dame got a much-needed win at Boston College last week. Pittsburgh rebounded from its 31-3 loss to Miami by beating Florida International last week. Despite its three losses, Notre Dame has been more impressive than Pittsburgh. The Panthers had a hard time stopping Miami and that will be the case against an Irish offense that can put up points.

No. 12 LSU at No. 14 Florida (7:30 p.m., ESPN): LSU is again having problems with its offense and clock management. Florida has also had problems on offense and is coming off a 31-6 loss at Alabama. But the Gators are back home and their defense should make it a long night for Jordan Jefferson and the Tigers.

No. 23 Florida State at No. 13 Miami (Fla.) (8 p.m., ABC): The longtime rivals meet in an intriguing ACC matchup. The Hurricanes have already played road games against Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Clemson, winning two of those games. Florida State is playing well, but got blown out at Oklahoma in what has been its biggest game of the season to date. If QB Jacory Harris avoids mistakes, the Hurricanes are tough to handle.

USC at No. 16 Stanford (8 p.m., ABC): Stanford stumbled last week, losing at Oregon, 52-31. USC, in the unusual position of underdog in this game, lost a heartbreaker at home, falling to Washington on a late field goal. The Stanford offense, led by Andrew Luck, has been tough to stop. USC is 99th nationally in total defense.