Yes, our hearts were broken once again Saturday. But they were also simultaneously mended and even uplifted.

This team didn’t roll over, die and have its corpse ripped apart limb from limb like it did last year against Notre Dame.

This team may have struggled to maintain a lead Saturday, but this was against the No. 9-ranked team in the nation — not Illinois or Northwestern.

The Spartans fought. And, in doing so, they turned skeptics into believers.

Nobody should get excited about a loss — but when it’s a loss like this, you can throw that logic out as if it were your treasured Corner Blitz memorabilia. Spartans fans have a right to grieve, but they also have an obligation to hope.

This is not a repeat of seasons past.

If it were, the offense never would have gotten the ball back after it missed a 53-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play.

If it were, MSU never would have overcome its 10-point fourth quarter deficit.

If it were, the players wouldn’t have been holding their heads high.

Yes, the Spartans are unhappy with the loss. But they don’t have to hunt for positives while watching film or put a twist on an ugly loss to appease fans. They won back a lot of the fans who waited timidly at the edge of the fan pool, their toes hanging ever so slightly off the rim, knees quivering as they tried to maintain balance and not fall in.

This game was a big shove into the water for those fans.

The players and coaches won’t rest until this season is over, though. There are still doubters out there. There are still people who think this loss is just history repeating itself. It’s just a pattern — the Spartans get our hopes up each fall only to shoot a blazing arrow through our hearts not even halfway through the season.

Fans need to listen to the players this time. These are college students — they are representative of you and me. They go to class with you, eat with you and live with you. They’re not trying to trick you.

So listen to senior strong safety Travis Key when he says, “This is not last year.” He yelled that during Saturday’s game, giving the players an extra push.

Last year, a rallying cry like that would have had about as much impact as a John L. Smith bubble screen on third-and-15. But now, the players can recognize their faults and prevent them from happening again. They have experience in breaking hearts, but now they have the tools to surgically resurrect an ailing fan base.

The most significant difference this year is that MSU head coach Mark Dantonio has made this team think it can reach the stars instead of telling them to just go out there and grab them. Empowering a team to constantly think it can achieve anything is the greatest gift to fans, coaches and the team itself. Yes, when a loss temporarily derails those aspirations, people will feel the lowest of lows. But it’s that belief that you can still extend your arms and scoop up all that you’ve tried to reach that keeps everybody on track.

This team’s relationship with its fans is a love affair — it’s bound to have a lot of ups to go with its downs. The team has made promises it couldn’t keep. It’s made us happier than any person or group of people should be able to, and it has also done just the opposite. It’s toyed with our emotions as well as given us a boost when we needed it most.

We’ve grown close in this relationship and the team has shown that they love us with their words and actions.

Show that you love them back.

Zack Colman is a State News football reporter. Reach him at colmanz1@msu.edu.