Last Saturday morning, my roommates and I were driving down Harrison when one of us wondered aloud why the flags at Kellogg Center were flying at half-mast.

"It's because the Spartan football team is playing today," someone quipped.

I laughed, but inside, I was crying.

I mean, doesn't it seem like just weeks ago that MSU was undefeated and everyone thought they were the greatest thing since Facebook?

(What's that? It was just weeks ago? Wow. Time flies when you're having a series of heart attacks.)

Seriously though, has it even felt like we've been watching the same team all year?

At the beginning of the year, every time a pass left Drew Stanton's hand, I expected it to be complete. Now, every time a pass leaves Drew Stanton's hand, I expect someone from Ohio State to show up, block it and return it for a touchdown.

What can I say? I've been conditioned.

But that's what we've had to watch for the last month: A team whose confidence has been shattered right along with its image as an offensive heavyweight that can outslug any team in the country.

It's been sad to watch a team with so much promise fall on its face — like dating a supermodel, then finding out after a few months that she's actually a man.

But despite how stark the difference on the field has been for MSU from the beginning of the season to now, I have some breaking news to report: This has been the exact same team all along. What's changed is the expectations.

I'm no John L. Smith apologist, but I do think expectations for this team were way out of whack after the first month of the season. This was a team that was projected to finish about 7-4 by most rational human beings. Then they opened the season by beating three cupcakes and a good team, and all of a sudden, people were talking about them as a BCS contender.

Excuse me? Beating Kent State meant we could hang with USC?

That's ridiculous. If we projected everyone's future based on their early successes, we'd all be pretty upset with how Hanson has panned out in the last decade.

But I'll agree — it was hard not to buy into that hype. After so many years of mediocrity, Spartan Nation was absolutely giddy to think that things could turn around so soon.

And that's when the biggest mistake of the season happened: The team bought in on the hype, too. They believed that they were a favorite in the Big Ten race. They believed that after losing to Michigan and Ohio State, their season was over.

In reality, the team could have finished 8-3 and, all things considered, the season would have been considered a resounding success. But setting their sights too high made them lose sight of what their realistic goals should have been. They tried to make the jump before they were ready, and ended up pulling a hamstring.

I'm not saying we shouldn't expect big things out of this program. But we do need to be realistic. This was not the year to be upset that MSU didn't win the Big Ten title. This team is close to being a power, but it's not there quite yet.

Now a growing number of MSU fans are saying the season is a failure, which I'm not sure I believe.

And it's those same fans who are using MSU's record as a reason why ESPN College GameDay has no business broadcasting from here this Saturday.

Well, let me explain why GameDay chose us. They couldn't go to the USC-Fresno State game because of time zone conflicts. Alabama-Auburn couldn't happen because ESPN was at Alabama's game last week. And Michigan-Ohio State was a no-go because everybody outside Ann Arbor hates Michigan. (My theory anyway.)

So, ESPN went for the "Break Glass In Case of Emergency" game, which just happened to be us.

Still, the debate raged all week: Do we really deserve to have College GameDay here?

Well, here's my thought: Who cares?

I mean, if my friend set me up with Jennifer Aniston, would I sit around and worry about whether I deserved her? Hell no! I would go make sure I didn't have anything stuck in my teeth.

That's how the Spartans should be looking at this weekend.

They've got an opportunity to beat a top-5 team in front of a national audience. They can clinch a bowl berth, even if it's only where the Lions play. They can avoid an off-season of questions about having back-to-back losing seasons.

But most importantly, a win can get them back in line with everyone's preseason expectations. And nobody — not the media, not the fans, and definitely not the team — should be upset with that.

(By the way, Jen, I am free Saturday night.)

Tom Keller is the State News sports editor. He can be reached at kellert1@msu.edu.