First you crawl, then you walk, then you run. Right now, MSU's offense is running. It has become a complete package that attacks defenses through the air and on the ground.
That is a turnaround from last season, when the offense was more one-dimensional, usually beating defenses with the pass.
There are varying explanations for the staggering potency of MSU's offense lately. It could be the arrival of Drew Stanton as the starting quarterback, maybe it is the newly-dominant offensive line or perhaps the innovative coaching of John L. Smith and his staff.
Whatever has driven MSU atop the Big Ten in total offense, one thing is clear: The Spartans don't plan to slow down any time soon.
"It took us half a season to get going," junior receiver Aaron Alexander said. "But now we're going and I don't think we're trying to stop for nobody."
In conference games, MSU is the leader in scoring offense (34.3 points per game), rushing offense (280.7 yards per game) and total offense (496.9 yards per game).
Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose Nittany Lions host MSU on Saturday, has noticed the Spartans' improved play of late.
"The way they've played the last three, four weeks, right now I think they're the best team in the conference," Paterno said. "They beat Michigan if they recover an onside kick. What they did to Wisconsin, I wouldn't have believed anybody could do. And they had a shot at Ohio State."
Stanton, the offensive line and Smith can probably all take some credit for the Spartans' dangerous offense, which put up 49 points against No. 9 Wisconsin last week.
But it has not been this way all season. The development of the offense has been a process, a process that included a 1-2 start in which MSU averaged 20.7 points and 368.7 yards per game. The Spartans' lone win in that stretch was against Central Michigan (3-7).
The season began with a 19-14 loss to Rutgers (4-5) on the road. Junior running back Jason Teague said the offense on the field that day isn't the same one that dominated Michigan for three quarters and scored 49 points on Wisconsin.
"I don't know what happened (to the offense) in that game, really," Teague said of the Rutgers loss. "I just think we had to get our confidence together."
The confidence of the offense has picked up since MSU came from behind to beat Indiana in the conference opener, offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin said.
Coincidentally, that was Stanton's first start at quarterback. Since then, the offense, particularly the rushing attack, has made the transition from walking to running.
Smith figured Stanton would be the starter when the season began, but a knee injury in the Alamo Bowl last season postponed that plan.
With Stanton finally in place as the starter once the Big Ten season began, MSU could run the plays Baldwin drew up to maximize the running game.
"When you're a single-back team, you have to devise ways to run the football and to become a good running team," Baldwin said. "We've made a lot of quarterback run adjustments. We've always had them in the package, but it wasn't something we were going to do with the other two (quarterbacks)."
The Spartans began attacking opposing defenses with more quarterback option plays. At the same time, MSU's three-headed, running-back-by-committee approach saw more success than earlier in the season, when the Spartans rushed for only 90 yards against Rutgers.
The weak rushing effort against Rutgers seemed like a carry-over from last season, when the Spartans finished last in the Big Ten in rushing. Now MSU leads the Big Ten in that category in conference games.
But that transition wasn't made simply by inserting Stanton into the starting role.
The offensive line's superb play has been almost shocking. And MSU's three running backs - Teague, redshirt freshman Jehuu Caulcrick and senior DeAndra Cobb - all have a different way of beating the defense and gaining yards.
"Our offense front has come further and faster than maybe we would've expected and I think our running-back-by-committee group has really produced," Smith said.
Although the running game has prospered, Baldwin said he'd prefer the passing game to increase its effectiveness as well.
"We haven't thrown the ball as well as we'd like to," he said. "We missed a couple opportunities last week. When you run the football, you definitely have play action and you should have a better passing game."
Stanton agreed.
"This offense definitely has room for growth," he said. "We're still getting used to being out there and trying to get that chemistry together. But you can see it improve more and more each week as we go on."
Staff writer J. Ryan Mulcrone contributed to this report.
