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Today, Group D in our college football as futbol World Cup simulation. Group D is perhaps the most wide open of any of the eight groups, with two reps from the Big Ten (Wisconsin and Michigan State), Duke out of the ACC and Texas of the Big 12.
Here are the winners from the first three groups:
Group A - Florida State (winner), Clemson (runner up)
Group B - LSU (winner), Arizona State (runner up)
Group C - Alabama (winner), Washington (runner up)
Let's get to it.
Group D
Wisconsin 20, Michigan State 3
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Michigan State Spartans | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 Wisconsin Badgers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
Michigan State and Wisconsin will be division rivals starting this coming season, but due to the Big Ten's cross-divisional schedule, the two programs didn't meet in 2013. In the opening round of Group D play, Wisconsin emerges with a B1G-like 20-3 victory over Sparty. The Badgers get it done on the ground, as RB James White rushes for 158 yards and 2 TDs on 23 carries. Michigan State RB Jeremy Langford also eclipses the century mark with 113 yards on 28 carries in the loss. The two quarterbacks combined for a little over 300 yards, zero touchdowns and three INTs.
Wisconsin earns three points while Sparty may later regret only mustering three points against Bucky.
Texas 29, Duke 20
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Duke Blue Devils | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| 2013 Texas Longhorns | 10 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
In a back-and-forth battle, the Texas Longhorns squeak past the Duke Blue Devils 29-20. Texas kicker Anthony Fera connects on five-of-six field goal attempts from 22, 30, 47, 32 and 18 to seal the victory. Texas QB Case McCoy nearly throws for 400 yards (393) on 21-of-35 passing but can't find the end zone. RB Malcolm Brown does, however, with a pair of TD runs and 95 yards on 21 carries in total.
Wisconsin and Texas sit atop the group with 3 points after the first round of games.
Duke 23, Michigan State 19
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Duke Blue Devils | 0 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 23 |
| 2013 Michigan State Spartans | 0 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
Duke, coming off its first 10-win season in school history, is out to prove that it belongs. The Blue Devils score a big 23-19 victory over seeded Michigan State in the second match of Group D play. Down 19-14 with less than 4 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Duke QB Anthony Boone engineers a 13 plays, 75 yard drive that culminates in a 5-yard Josh Snead touchdown run. After an unsuccessful 2-point conversion, MSU takes over on their own 20 with 0:47 left in the game. After turning the ball over on downs, Duke adds a 30-yard Ross Martin field goal to ice the victory (remember margin of victory is important).
Duke picks up an important 3 points while Michigan State will have lots of work to do in its final game if 12-1 Sparty hopes to move onto the knockout round.
Texas 37, Wisconsin 20
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Texas Longhorns | 9 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 37 |
| 2013 Wisconsin Badgers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Much like Duke, Texas has a lot to prove following a lackluster -- per Texas standards, anyway -- 2013 campaign. The Longhorns jump out ahead of everyone else in Group D with a dominant 37-20 victory over the Badgers. Texas scored 21 points in the second quarter and went into the locker room with a big 30-13 lead. Texas QB Case McCoy finishes as the player of the game, throwing for 337 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs on 26-of-36 passing.
Texas moves to 2-0 in group play while Wisconsin and Duke are in second at 1-1.
Michigan State 26, Texas 14
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Texas Longhorns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| 2013 Michigan State Spartans | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 26 |
Needing a win and to make up some ground in point differential, the Spartans scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to race past Texas, 26-14. Michigan State QB Connor Cook throws for 276 yards and a touchdown in the victory. The win pushes Sparty into a three way tie with Wisconsin and Duke depending on the final group game result.
Wisconsin 24, Duke 3
| Final - Group D | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| 2013 Wisconsin Badgers | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| 2013 Duke Blue Devils | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Wisconsin punches its ticket to the knockout stage with a dominating 24-3 victory over David Cutcliffe's Blue Devils. Wisco QB Joel Stave throws for 234 yards and RB Melvin Gordon rushed for 105 to pace the Badgers. Duke RB Jela Duncan has 100+ yards on the day, but no Blue Devil gets into the end zone on the day. The Wisconsin D limits Duke to just 5-of-15 on third down conversions and 0-2 on fourth downs.
Final Group Standings
| Team | G | W | T | L | Pts | PD | PF | PA |
| Wisconsin Badgers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 64 | 43 |
| Texas Longhorns | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 80 | 66 |
| Michigan State Spartans | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -9 | 48 | 57 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | -26 | 46 | 72 |
Group D Winner: Despite losing to Texas 37-20, it's Wisconsin that tops the group with 6 points and a +21 point differential. The Badgers do it with defense, allowing a tournament low 43 points over three games.
Group D Runner-Up: Texas places second with 6 points and a point differential of +14. Michigan State becomes the second national seed to go home early.