“I always think you’re either getting better or not — one way or the other,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “We want to continue to try to build the steps toward what we want: 10-2. There is a difference, I think, between 10-2 and 9-3, especially in this conference.”

For the final game of the regular season, the Spartans will take on Northwestern (6-5, 3-4) in Evanston, Ill. at noon (Big Ten Network).

The Wildcats have always been a thorn in the Spartans’ side — giving them a run for their money in each matchup.

Last time they were in Evanston, Northwestern jumped to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter over the Spartans, but they managed pull through, 35-27. However, just because they did it once, doesn’t mean they should be so lucky in a similar situation this year, senior quarterback Kirk Cousins said.

“We got into a hole last year, and we were fortunate enough to climb out of it,” Cousins said. “But we can’t expect that to happen again.

“If you look at the scores of the Northwestern games, they’ve been jumping on people early and getting good leads, so they’ve been a great first quarter-second quarter team, and we need to be able to match that.”

A win for MSU this weekend would not only give the team its second consecutive 10-win season, but it also would spark momentum for the Spartans headed into the conference championship game.

Dantonio said the Spartans need to get the win, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes — and that means not resting players for the championship game or taking Northwestern too lightly.

“Obviously, some things could happen where we could rest some players at the end of the game or something of that nature, but I don’t expect it because we are going to play to win,” Dantonio said.

“I’m not going to sit here and alibi the situation if we don’t win and say, ‘Well, we didn’t play as hard as we could.’ I don’t think that’s acceptable or fair to anybody.”

Junior defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said MSU is going to come at the Wildcats at full speed, because even though there is nothing tangible on the line, the Spartans need the momentum from a win going into the Big Ten Championship game.

“As long as we can continue to fire on all cylinders and come out with the same hunger and intensity as we did last week (against Indiana), we can take care of Northwestern and move forward,” Worthy said.

“You never want to go into a championship game coming off a loss,” he said. “It would be bad for the team and bad for the morale, so we’re going to go out there and play the game as if we need to win and just come out with the same intensity we’ve done all season.”