First up is Northwestern (4-6, 0-6), a team that reminds Dantonio of his own a year ago. His Spartans were ranked No. 13 to begin the 2012 season, complete with Rose Bowl aspirations, before tail-spinning to a 7-6 record. The Wildcats were pegged No. 22 and seen as a Legends Division favorite at the start of this year, but have bottomed out with six straight losses.

Following an emotionally-charged win at Nebraska — the program’s first victory against the Cornhuskers — Dantonio echoed many motifs of the last few weeks, including a need to peak in November at his Tuesday press conference.

“That’s the challenge for us because people become complacent,” Dantonio said. “We need to guard against that and continue to handle success. Northwestern (is a) tough football team — going through a little bit of tough times obviously, losing very close, much like we did last year.”

The Wildcats need to win their final two games to earn bowl eligibility, and that desperation makes them a dangerous bunch. Aside from the loss of standout running back Venric Mark to injury, Northwestern remains a highly formidable team, despite what its record may indicate.

Luckily for the Spartans and their No. 1-ranked defense, the Wildcats’ no-huddle spread-option offense is fairly consistent with Nebraska’s system, which should benefit MSU’s preparation. That benefit will be multiplied if the Spartans meet Ohio State for the conference title, as the Buckeyes run their own iteration of a spread-option attack.

“The stakes continue to get higher as we go through the process here,” Dantonio said. “That’s what you come here for, that’s what you work for. Things always have to sort of fall in place in order to get to that. You have to be injury?free, you have to win the close games, you have to get some bounces here and there, too. That’s part of it, too. Those things have to happen for you to reach the type of success we’re having right now.”

Catching on

Sophomore wide receiver Aaron Burbridge has been missing in action since leaving mid-game against Purdue in October. Dantonio said Tuesday Burbridge now is fully healthy, but with improved production from junior Tony Lippett and senior Bennie Fowler recently, it will be a challenge to re-enter the playing rotation.

Burbridge has 17 catches for 146 yards on the season.

“I think the question is, how is he playing relative to everybody else?” Dantonio said. “That’s something that he has to rediscover a little bit, and he will, because he’ll compete. ”

As for the overall improvement of the wide receivers as this year has moved along, Dantonio credited the effort of their position coach, Terrence Samuel. The receivers were the weakest cog in a poorly assembled offensive machine last season and to a lesser extent in the early stages of 2013, but patience and confidence have transformed them into “a strength” of MSU’s team, Dantonio said.

“(Samuel) continues to work them, working on the little things,” Dantonio said. “They’ve always had ability. I’ve said it over and over and over. You come to our practices, you watch these guys, you watch them perform, you see big?time ability. … they needed to transition to doing that at game time. They’ve done that.”