For most football teams, there is an air of judgment that comes with the bye week.
It can be bad for a team on a winning streak because the time off can potentially erode that positive momentum. For a struggling or banged-up team, the extra rest is usually more welcome.
MSU is in the middle of that theory.
The Spartans (4-3 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) will use the bye week to help heal some of their injuries while attempting to maintain the confidence they played with last week against Minnesota.
The extra week of preparation comes before taking on rival Michigan (6-1, 4-0) on Oct. 30 in Ann Arbor.
The Spartans' 51-17 upset of Minnesota has thrust them into the Big Ten title picture, and the outcome of MSU's matchup against the Wolverines will make that picture much clearer.
"After this last victory now, we're seeing a bigger goal than maybe we had originally pictured in the beginning of the season," junior center Chris Morris said Wednesday at MSU's weekly press conference.
"Michigan being at the top of the league, we're seeing this as a huge opportunity to beat one of our biggest rivals, plus moving a step closer to a possible championship."
The challenge for the Spartans will be sustaining the high level of intensity they played with in their 51-17 win against Minnesota, which head coach John L. Smith called "probably our best outing of the year so far."
The practice field is where MSU's emotional and confident performance against the Gophers originated and that's where the Spartans must continue to work hard for their good fortune to continue, Smith said.
"We have been coming together really nice," Morris said. "We need to keep it up in practice."
The Spartans completed running and throwing drills Wednesday and will have today off, Smith said, before practicing Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The lighter practice schedule will allow the injured Spartans to recover from their injuries. Smith said he expects to field a much healthier team against the Wolverines than he's had in recent weeks.
Among the wounded Spartans: junior receiver Agim Shabaj (ankle), senior defensive end Clifford Dukes (quadriceps), sophomore defensive end Clifton Ryan (knee) and junior left tackle Stefon Wheeler (ankle).
Man of his word
After MSU's win against Minnesota, sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton brought the offensive linemen into the postgame press conference to honor their effort and get them some recognition. He also promised to break open his piggy bank and treat them to dinner.
It turns out Stanton is keeping his word.
"I think tonight he's taking us to Mongolian," Morris said on Wednesday.
Maybe Stanton should have called ahead and tell the staff at BD's Mongolian Barbeque, an all-you-can-eat establishment, that a group of very large offensive linemen is on its way.
Rivalry intensity
The MSU-U-M rivalry might be viewed as one-sided because many Wolverines fans argue Ohio State is their primary rival. But MSU offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin said the rivalry is more intense than any he has seen before.
The bulk of Baldwin's coaching experience is on the West Coast. Baldwin was in the thick of the California-Stanford rivalry while he was the wide receivers coach at Stanford in the 1980s.
"I've been in the big game at Stanford and Cal and it was nothing like this," he said. "When you step on the field, it's all the same but just the intensity of the week and everything that goes with it - they might not claim that we're their rival either, but that doesn't matter to us. When you step on the field, everybody's your rival."
