The road to Super Bowl LX has been paved with dominant performances, clutch moments, and a few snow-covered battles - and at the center of it all are two former Michigan State Spartans who’ve taken very different paths to the NFL’s biggest stage.
Seattle punched its ticket to the Super Bowl behind a 14-3 regular season and the top seed in the NFC, earning a first-round bye that gave them a crucial week of rest. From there, they handled business with wins over two familiar foes - first San Francisco in the Divisional Round, then Los Angeles in the NFC Championship.
And a huge part of that postseason push? Kenneth Walker III.
Walker has been everything Seattle could’ve asked for and then some. He followed up his second consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season with a playoff surge that’s been both timely and explosive: 178 yards and four touchdowns in just two games.
His ability to grind out tough yards, break free for chunk plays, and keep defenses honest has been a stabilizing force for an offense that’s leaned on him when it matters most. Simply put, Walker’s been the engine behind Seattle’s ground game - and he’s running with purpose.
And while his NFL jersey may be a different shade of green, Walker hasn’t forgotten his roots. After Seattle’s Divisional Round win, he was named Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game, a nod to his impact and energy.
When Brady joked that Michigan could’ve used him, Walker didn’t miss a beat. With a grin, he fired back with a “Go Green,” repping his Spartan pride on national TV.
On the other side of the Super Bowl matchup, New England has taken a similarly dominant path through the AFC. A 14-3 regular season record earned them the conference’s No. 2 seed, and they rolled through the playoffs with wins over the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos.
That AFC title game in Denver? A snowstorm turned it into a gritty, old-school slugfest - and that’s where Bryce Baringer came up big.
Punters don’t always get the spotlight, but Baringer made sure his impact was felt. In the middle of a blizzard, he launched eight punts that consistently flipped the field and pinned the Broncos deep.
That kind of field position battle doesn’t always make the highlight reel, but it’s the kind of performance that helps win playoff games. His precision and poise in brutal conditions gave New England’s defense the breathing room it needed to shut things down and seal the win.
Baringer’s no stranger to making history, either. He left Michigan State as one of the most decorated punters the program’s ever seen - holding school records for both single-season and career punting average, with the latter standing as the best in Big Ten history. A first-team All-American in 2022, he was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round in 2023 and has quietly become a key piece of their special teams unit.
So now, with the bright lights of Super Bowl LX ahead, two former Spartans stand on opposite sidelines, each playing their part in getting their team to the pinnacle of the sport. Walker, the dynamic running back with a nose for the end zone. Baringer, the precision punter who flipped a snow-covered championship game on its head.
Only one will walk away with a ring, but no matter the outcome, one thing’s certain - a Spartan will be crowned a Super Bowl champion.