At 6-0, Michigan State is off to its best start since 1999 — Nick Saban’s final year in East Lansing. But fairly fast starts are nothing new for the Spartans, who teased their fan base with early-season victories in the past.
It’s the finishing that has eluded Michigan State.
Today’s game against Illinois is big for the Spartans, and not only because it would put them at 7-0 — the best start since 1966 (!) — and keep them at the top of the Big Ten standings. A win today would calm a lot of Spartan Nation’s fears about another second-half collapse.
For Michigan State, it’s not the big games that scare their fans. They usually aren’t expected to win those anyway, and it’s often much easier to get a team up for a game against an opponent that’s perceived as better. It’s the games they’re expected to win that are scary. Reading their own press clippings, and basking in the pats on the back from their fans have been a problem for the Spartans. They just don’t seem to handle success well.
Many Michigan State fans feel like things will be different with Mark Dantonio in his fourth year. This team is definitely an extension of its coach, and his no-nonsense, disciplined style gives the fans hope. That hasn’t stopped a lot of them from being rightfully nervous about Illinois today, and lapses in judgment like senior cornerback Chris L. Rucker’s drunk driving arrest last week don’t help.
So a win today doesn’t give the Spartans a Big Ten title, and doesn’t get them to a BCS bowl. But it will put to rest a lot of the common fears about the team, and show they’re ready to focus on winning, even when they’re expected to.
