They even started freshman cornerback in Justin Layne, and after a promising start flashing his anticipation skills for a pick-six, looked to provide a sense of passion in the MSU defense it hadn’t experienced this season.

Well, 490 yards and 10 third-down conversions later, the defense resorted back to the same string of notes it has been playing all season.

That being said, MSU’s season still has a purpose, even if watching them give up a kickoff return touchdown right after cutting their deficit to two made anyone reading this who was alive for the John L. Smith era cringe at the sheer resemblance those teams portrayed.

For one, MSU still has an opportunity at postseason play. They have Rutgers and Illinois, who have their major flaws that put them in the running to be perched upon the throne of “Worst Power Five Team.” They play a Maryland team on the road on Saturday that started the season 4-0, but have dropped their last two games in blowout fashion. Lastly, a final week battle for the Land Grant trophy on the road at Penn State, the most far-fetched winnable game MSU has on their schedule.

It would take a miracle for MSU to pull off an upset of the No. 2 Ohio State University Buckeyes and a whole lot of rivalry magic to win against U-M, who they have seven wins against in the last 10 years.

For the second point, revert back to the 2012 season where a then-freshman quarterback Connor Cook took the reins in MSU’s bowl game and led the Spartans back to victory. Now, a similar situation presents itself as Lewerke has worked his way into a potential full-time starting gig. The experience Lewerke gains now could mean a bright future for MSU football.

Speaking of, look at all the young guys getting meaningful minutes this season. Developing Layne to be a potential starting corner to pair with sophomore Vayante Copeland for two more seasons is big for MSU’s secondary. Young defensive linemen like Josh King and Raequan Williams are playing big minutes as MSU will have to replace all four of the linemen who started last week, assuming McDowell leaves for the NFL draft.

Wide receiver Donnie Corley is quickly developing into MSU’s next go-to guy on the outside as just a freshman, and sophomore linebacker Andrew Dowell is stepping up big time and gaining more defensive reps with injuries at the linebacker position.

And lastly, it’s not fair to the students, fans and especially the seniors of this MSU football team to pull the plug on a season just like that. It might seem dead to some, but these players, who have experienced some of the highest achievements a college football player can accomplish, won’t call it finished until the day their locker is cleaned out.

“Well, when you're two and four, you're always worried about the future,” co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner said. “Immediate future is the most important thing right now. We're halfway through a football season, we're not where we want to be or where we expected to be. So in our minds, the future is the next six games and we're worried about it because we need to improve and get better.”

For all the scrutiny that the MSU coaching staff has taken this season, myself included, they aren’t ready to pull that plug either. And there is no need to do so.