If I have learned one thing from watching MSU sports this year, it is that the beginning of the season means absolutely nothing.

Let's take a trip down memory lane with the football team.

They opened the season 4-0. They were riding high, ranked just outside the Top 10, and everyone was talking about how the Spartans had returned to the national spotlight.

Then they let their kicking game get involved and the season went down the drain.

After losses to Michigan and Ohio State, this team packed it in and decided they didn't want to go to a bowl game unless it was an elite one.

So what exactly can we learn from the football team's collapse?

The early season loss that the men's basketball team took on Saturday means absolutely nothing to them. If anything, all it means is that they have some areas of their game that they are going to need to improve in.

Fans should not look too far into the loss to Hawaii. If I remember correctly, North Carolina lost a game early last year to an unranked opponent as well and look what they ended up doing last year. That's right, they won the national championship.

Athletics these days are determined down the stretch.

Go back to college football now. Michigan started the season 3-3 and was playing in a game Saturday that could have put them in a BCS game if the Spartans could have pulled off something short of a miracle against Penn State.

Michigan was left for dead earlier in the season, but they never gave up, a memo that must have not been delivered to the Spartans.

So I suppose I should point out that Spartans fans should also not get too hyped about the women's victories just yet. They played two teams that were far less superior to themselves and they still have a tough road ahead of them.

A loss here and a loss there for the Spartans, and they too could have their confidence taking a nose dive much like the football team's did. Something tells me that MSU head coach Joanne P. McCallie won't let that happen to her ladies, though. And I bet she will have her team ready to play every single game.

Then there is the hockey team, which came out of the gates roaring. They started really strong and opened the season with a 5-1-1 record. Since they recorded their fifth win though, the Spartans have lost four and tied two — another sign that the start of the season means nothing unless you can continue winning games.

At least the hockey team can blame some of the recent failures on injuries. They have been plagued by them, but again, that is no excuse when the end of the year comes and you are on the outside looking in.

The stretch run is what makes or breaks a team. Everybody knows that the early season games are always played against cupcakes and teams that are supposed to make you look great. This is exactly what the football team had happen to them. They played teams that made them look great — but when it came time to play the big boys, well, they looked anything but great.

At the beginning of the school year, I said this could shape up to be a great season for Spartans fans all over. So far though, Spartans fans all over have been left disappointed.

The MSU field hockey team was unable to discover its magic from last year and looked like just another mediocre team for most of the year. The men's and women's soccer teams showed signs of doing some great things, but in the end they too left Spartans fans wanting more.

And then, of course, as I have stated so many times, the football team was probably the biggest disappointment of all.

So Spartans fans will turn their attention to the men's and women's basketball teams, along with the hockey team. Fans will be hoping that one, if not all of them, can turn MSU's fortunes around and make the Spartans winners again.

Chris Barsotti is the State News sports reporter and can be reached at barsott1@msu.edu