Both Dantonio and Jairus Jones described the problem as “coming out flat,” and the junior safety said it was a teamwide problem that was evident before the Spartans even took the field last weekend.

“We were a little flat coming out for the game,” Jones said. “The sideline wasn’t into it, the offense wasn’t into it and the defense wasn’t into it. I just know we’ll be ready for next week.”

The team’s low first-half energy and enthusiastic second-half responses have been reflected in junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell’s stats.

So far, Maxwell is completing 54 percent of his passes in the first half, compared to 61 percent in the second half, and the increased accuracy has produced a greater amount of passing yards in the second half despite 13 fewer completions and 31 fewer attempts.

This is including Maxwell’s numbers against Central Michigan, where he had more yards passing in the first half than the other three games combined and had fewer second-half passing yards than in any other game.

“I think it’s just a matter of making plays when they present themselves,” Maxwell said.

“I think everybody can look at the film and point the thumb and find out places where we can all improve. Bottom line, we’ve got to stay out of third and long, we’ve got to be more effective on first and second down and we’ve got to start faster. If we can do all of those things, we’ll be OK and we’ll get back on track.”

Senior offensive guard Chris McDonald said the solution starts with the offensive line, which he believes sets the tone for the team to follow each game.

If the offensive line can continue to open up holes for junior running back Le’Veon Bell and also give Maxwell time to find receivers downfield, McDonald believes the team’s first-half struggles will be a thing of the past.

With the Big Ten season set to get under way this weekend when the Spartans host No. 14 Ohio State (4-0) on Saturday, a sense of urgency is beginning to develop, and junior linebacker Max Bullough said although he’s not sure of the reasons behind the problem, they need to be corrected this week in practice.

“That’s something that’s hard to put a finger on. If we knew, we could change it for next week and the following weeks, but it’s just something that we need to work on .”