Michigan State might be college football's most confident team

EAST LANSING, Mich. ­­— Mark Dantonio smiled, actually smiled. And quarterback Connor Cook joked around while center Jack Allen basked in the spotlight of his first career touchdown run.

"It's not every day you see a 265-pound tailback back there," Cook said.

Allen: "265? I know I look slim and cut —"

Cook, laughing: "Fine, 280." (Or 296, Allen's listed weight.)

The Spartans were loose, the kind of loose that comes after a 55-16 win that propels you to a conference championship game. They were healthier than they've been in weeks. Confident, too.

No. 6 Michigan State earns Big Ten title shot vs. Iowa

In short, Michigan State felt light years removed from the team sitting in Nebraska's visiting locker room, crushed by its first loss just three weeks ago. But that moment shaped the Spartans they have become this month, the same Spartans who reeled off wins against Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State to close out the regular season and clinch the Big Ten East division.

Without suffering that loss to the Huskers, they aren't sure they'd be sitting here, donning East champion hats and T-shirts, talking about how their next goal — winning the conference championship — is within their grasp.

"After the Nebraska loss, Shilique (Calhoun) was one of the first people I went up to in the locker room," Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said. "I asked if he was alright. He was sort of teary-eyed, but he said this was the best thing that could have happened to our team. … That was a mature answer, but that's when a whole switch (flipped.) The guys changed from thinking, 'We're going to be the best defense in the country because everybody is going to do their job,' to deciding, 'We're going to be the best defense in the country because we're going to dominate and kick people's tails.' That loss might have been huge for the defense. You saw the mentality change."

The way linebacker Riley Bullough described it, the difference is playing hard for the full game. Losing to Nebraska reminded Michigan State of its mortality, and pointed out a lack of motivation play in and play out.

"It motivated us, and humbled us a little bit," Bullough said.

Cook compared it to the shoulder sprain that kept him out of last week's game against Ohio State. Missing a game or losing one that could cost the Spartans a shot at their ultimate goal, well, it makes you appreciate every second and every snap once you're back.

"When you have something taken away from you, you sit back and re-evaluate yourself, kind of check yourself," Cook said. "We did that. We know what it feels like to lose — it's the worst feeling in the entire world, and we don't want to feel like that ever again."

The Spartans, certainly, are lucky that their loss didn't derail the season. In fact, it didn't even affect their East division standing. They controlled their fate from start to finish.

The same could be said of Saturday's game against Penn State. The Spartans turned two first-half turnovers into 13 points and securing a lead they never came close to letting go. Cook said he was not touched by a Penn State defender the entire game, a testament to the offensive line and also the efficiency of a Cook-led offense, even if Cook may not be 100% healthy. The Michigan State defense tightened up in the second half, forcing a three and out, grabbing a pick-six and forcing a turnover on downs in three of Penn State's five possessions.

Dantonio believes his team is playing its best football at the exact right time, which bodes well for the Big Ten championship game against undefeated Iowa — and perhaps beyond. He said he thinks the winner of the Big Ten title game deserves to be in the four-team College Football Playoff game, and he's right: The game is a de facto Playoff quarterfinal.

"We're playing our best football down the stretch, and if you look and compare us to last year's Big Ten champion, that's what they were able to do," Dantonio said. "Even though we lost to Nebraska, we knew we were still in control. We had to win it — if we were going to win it, it wasn't going to be given to us. We had to play this football game and take it as opposed to playing cautious and standing back and saying, 'I hope we don't lose.' We had to play this game to win. That's the mentality our guys went out with.

"That creates even more energy. That's what we have right now, that energy."