At first I was disappointed, but decided to give the absent students the benefit of the doubt. The game hadn’t started yet, and on a day where rain was a possibility, I figured many would wait until the last minute to arrive.

But well after kickoff, the upper section still was completely bare. I waited and waited for it to fill up, but it never happened.

I reached for my pregame notes to make sure I wasn’t mistaken and that the undefeated No. 24 Spartans were in fact playing another undefeated team in the No. 11 Badgers.

Sure enough, I was right.

It was shocking to me that so many students simply wouldn’t show up for a game against a top-15 conference opponent.

Regardless of the poor showing, though, the game went on, and the Spartans pulled off a 34-24 win against the Badgers.

After the game, I heard plenty of excuses from students for not attending, ranging from not wanting to stand in the rain to being too drunk — none of which I viewed as acceptable.

The first logical reason I heard for the empty section was that late-arriving students receiving seats in the upper deck forced their way into the lower bowl. It made enough sense, as I know I would much rather stand in downstairs than upstairs, so I dropped it and assumed that was the case.

This week, however, I learned the truth when MSU Associate Athletics Director John Lewandowski said there was an 11 percent no-show rate from the students for the game against Wisconsin.

With about 13,000 students holding tickets, some simple, quick math shows that almost 1,500 students decided watching MSU play one of its biggest games of the season wasn’t worth chancing the rain or holding off on a few drinks.

To say that’s pathetic is a bigger understatement than saying senior Greg Jones is a solid linebacker.

Championship-caliber teams — a status the Spartans have reached this season — do not struggle to fill their stadium, especially for a game with title implications. And even more embarrassing than simply having empty seats is when those seats are in the student section.

In a game like college football, where the outcome can be determined by a single penalty or defensive stop, home-field advantage with a rowdy crowd can be a game changer. So when nearly 1,500 students decide to not show up, it’s not just 1,500 missing bodies.

It’s 1,500 absent yelling voices, 1,500 absent sets of keys making noise on third down and 1,500 absent students singing the “Michigan State Fight Song.”

No-showing is expected if a program is in the midst of a sub-.500 season and putting an awful product on the field. But with MSU sitting at 4-0 at the time, ranked in the top 25 and playing some of the best football the Spartans have played in years, it is unacceptable.

Fortunately, the season isn’t over.

MSU now boasts a 6-0 record, is ranked 13th in the country and has as much of a chance to win the Big Ten as anybody.

With three home games left, including one at noon tomorrow against Illinois, the students have a few more chances to redeem themselves.

And if you expect to see a championship-caliber team the rest of the season, I suggest you give the Spartans championship-caliber fans.