All things considered, MSU played as well as it could have against the lesser opponent.

“When you allow one first down only and the score is 44-0 and you don’t turn the ball over, there’s not a lot to be critical about,” senior quarterback Kirk Cousins said after the game.

Cousins is right; there’s not much to critique when the lopsided statistics are glaring you in the face and explicitly outlining the differences between MSU’s first two games.

But did the Spartans look like a different team because they made crucial changes to the way they play or could it be the difference in opponent?

I have no doubt MSU made some changes to how it operates, but maybe the Spartans underestimated Youngstown State and equated it to Florida Atlantic.

Youngstown State ran a quick offense and spread the ball around, while Florida Atlantic could barely move up the field. They expected to blow past the Penguins with the ease they did the Owls, and it was noticeable that they took the first win for granted, leaving them with a sour taste in their mouths.

This isn’t an attempt to ignore the adjustments MSU made during the second week of practice because everything can’t be solely influenced by two different opponents. For argument’s sake, let’s assume the major differences were controlled by the Spartans, as Cousins said they were.

“We knew that if we continued to have some unforced errors like we had last Friday night, it’s going to get us beat,” he said. “We cleaned that up (Saturday), and I think it’s going to be important as we go forward to make sure it stays that clean.”

Sure, MSU opened with a mediocre game, had an analytical week of practice and returned with dominance, but that progress was made against teams who are barely on the map.

Head coach Mark Dantonio seems to have the Spartans moving in the right direction for consistent improvement, but we still have no idea how well they’ll hold up this week against Notre Dame.
They need to recognize that in the same way Youngstown State is not comparable to Florida Atlantic, neither of those teams parallels the Fighting Irish — or the Big Ten.

Maybe the dominance we saw this weekend is the real Michigan State — the defending conference champions and serious Rose Bowl contenders — and the team will have no problem capturing a second consecutive win over Notre Dame.

Is this weekend’s success evidence that MSU made its necessary changes, or is it the result of a weaker opponent playing a team with enormous potential with a few kinks to work out?
Lucky for us, we’ll have some answers in a few days.