A win is a win. They do all count as one. Those are indisputable facts, and it’s what head coach Mark Dantonio rightfully preached to his team afterward.

And if the Spartans had their way, sleepwalking through a matchup with the Boilermakers would be nothing but a minor footnote on their rose-scented resume.

But with the teeth of the schedule approaching, another similar performance will dash any California dreams. Coaches and players mentioned the Spartans didn’t have a sharp week of practice leading into the game, a sign some players were overlooking the underdog.

“I feel like a few people weren’t in the right mindset to play a Big Ten school, not just Purdue, a Big Ten school,” senior linebacker Denicos Allen said.

“They still have the potential to beat anybody in the Big Ten, so I think the practice that we had this week carried into the first half.”

MSU built some confidence in back-to-back wins against Iowa and Indiana, and had folks buying them as Legends Division frontrunners, but a lack of maturity was on display in Saturday’s outing.

Championship teams impose their will on weakling opponents. Whether it was the soggy conditions, a lack of focus or overconfidence, that didn’t happen.

The most troubling part was the revelation that MSU hasn’t completely exorcised its demons offensively. A dark, hideous side still remains lurking like a split-personality for this program that can apparently rear it’s head at any time.

It’s similar to Bruce Banner and the Hulk, except when the Spartans’ lose control of their alter persona, nothing good comes from it.

You wouldn’t like them when they’re ugly, because when that demon comes out, things grind to a halt. Passes sail too high. Receivers become unreliable. Running lanes don’t open up.

All of which puts more pressure on the nation’s top-ranked defense.

If MSU hopes to attain its goals this season, it will have to learn to put the inner beast to rest permanently.

“It’s a step forward. It’s not a step back,” Dantonio said. “A step back is when you lose. It’s a step forward.”

As long as the Purdue game was an aberration and a launch point for growth, as Dantonio believes, MSU has nothing to worry about.

The Spartans are a very good team, but not good enough to believe they already won the game by simply showing up.

MSU used up its one mulligan this season, because there are no more Purdues left to play. The next time the Spartans play like that, it’ll cost them.

Stephen Brooks is a State News football reporter. Reach him at sbrooks@statenews.com.