Real test for MSU begins next weekend

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Not a bad start, Spartans. Only you, Wisconsin, Purdue and Ohio State are undefeated in the Big Ten. You’re on top.

But you’ve done this before. You started out 4-0 in 2005, 3-0 in 2006 – this isn’t news to you. You know the season isn’t won in four games.

You know the season doesn’t really start until Big Ten play.

So yes, these four wins are big. Realistically, the Spartans need just two more wins to receive bowl consideration. But when you’re undefeated, you always expect more. This team doesn’t just want consideration – it wants recognition.

To earn that, though, MSU has to weather the monsoon that is conference play. The fact that Michigan can still become Big Ten champions after their stunning (yet hilarious/gratifying/amazing) loss to Appalachian State makes about as much sense as a Larry the Cable Guy stand-up performance in Taiwan. Conference play is anything but predictable.

But the Spartans could come out victorious for that very same reason. Would anybody really have predicted MSU to win the Big Ten title? No – and if you did, don’t admit it because your friends will ship you off to the loony bin faster than President George W. Bush sends soldiers to Iraq. Still, the Spartans could surprise people if their play thus far translates to Big Ten games.

It’s not like the MSU players are oblivious to what people say or think. They know they weren’t on anybody’s list to win the Big Ten given that their only victory last year in the conference was over the football geniuses (or, more accurately, football-playing geniuses) that are the Northwestern Wildcats. That’s why they need to make a statement.

The Spartans are currently sitting just outside of the top 25 in the Associated Press poll, receiving 60 votes. Only Purdue and Miami sit ahead of MSU. So how on earth is MSU supposed to hurdle those teams?

It all starts with a win over No. 9-ranked Wisconsin.

The MSU coaches are surely emphasizing that every game the team plays is its most important. But let’s throw all that out the window – we all know this is the most important. Now, the players and coaches might argue that they have faced high-caliber teams, and they surely have the right to think that.

If UAB, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame were worthy competitors, then Wisconsin has about as much of a chance at winning this game as Detroit Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers does in a swimsuit competition (and if you go for that stuff, uh, well, keep it to yourself). The Spartans played terrific football in those games, and no doubt they would be able to continue that against another quality opponent in Wisconsin.

These teams aren’t on Wisconsin’s level, and although nobody who plays or coaches for MSU will say that outright, they know and think it. Notre Dame may have history, but they have zero wins. Pittsburgh and Bowling Green may not have losing records, but they still play in arguably lesser conferences. And UAB may have – wait, what do they have again?

These first four games were the preseason.

Now we’re entering the regular season.

The Spartans are 0-0.

Zack Colman is a State News football reporter. You can reach him at colmanz1@msu.edu.

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