Coaching adjustments haven't exactly been a staple of the John L. Smith era. Teams have been able to find an MSU weakness and exploit it for the length of the game as the Spartans look on in disbelief. Just look at MSU's 27-20 loss to Michigan in 2003, when Chris Perry ran straight at the heart of the MSU defense for 60 minutes straight, averaging about four yards a pop and exhausting MSU's front seven.

The fourth-quarter collapse against the Wolverines in 2004 also comes to mind. Braylon Edwards went to work against the hopelessly overmatched Jaren Hayes, taking advantage of single coverage and single-handedly leading the Wolverines to a triple-overtime victory in Ann Arbor.

But on Saturday, the coaching staff plugged all the holes in the MSU game plan and simultaneously found a way to take advantage of Pittsburgh's weaknesses. Drew Stanton audibled to the option often and kept the Panthers' defense guessing. The Spartans' passing attack didn't open any eyes, but the team gained 335 yards on the ground.

The defense's adjustments were just as effective. Pittsburgh's wideouts were given a 10-12 yard cushion to start the game, so quarterback Tyler Palko threw short passes to slowly move his offense downfield.

"We realized that we had to play more (man-to-man)," sophomore safety Otis Wiley said. "We were playing a regular base defense. We had to have some little stunts here and there."

Some of college football's most dangerous offensive weapons will set their sights on the Spartans in the coming weeks. Without adjustments, Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Michael Hart, Ted Ginn Jr. and Troy Smith will undoubtedly light up the Spartans just like Perry and Edwards did. It's up to the coaching staff to be flexible and find ways for MSU to contain those players, much like they did to Palko on Saturday.

Ethan Conley can be reached to conleyet@msu.edu.