State of Michigan: Spartans hold all the power after victory over Oregon

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jim Harbaugh is the shiny new object in college football this year, grabbing attention as he starts to rebuild Michigan.

But there is a program in the same state that is already built. It is all grown up. And it has zero interest in playing second fiddle to the transitioning glam program in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State is the undisputed king of this state, until proven otherwise.

"I just think this was the place to be today in this state," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said, a very pointed remark that he made after his No. 5 team defeated No. 7 Oregon 31-28 Saturday night.

His message – to recruits, to fans, to media members – was unmistakable. It was also accurate. I was in Ann Arbor to see the Wolverines at noon and in East Lansing to see Spartans at night, and there is no question which is the program of the moment in Michigan.

Michigan State is the team with dominant players in the trenches. Michigan State is the team with a playmaking quarterback. Michigan State is the team that has built enough depth to simply reload after losing prominent players, year after year. Michigan State is the team that was poised enough and confident enough to win on the biggest stage of the early season.

In his ninth season, Dantonio has a fully mature program. One that seems ready to offer a viable challenge to kingpin Ohio State when the two meet Nov. 21 in Columbus.

Of course, there is the not-so-minor matter of Michigan in mid-October. But if there is one team Dantonio has figured out how to beat, it's Big Brother Big Blue. He's won six of the past seven meetings, five of them by two touchdowns or more.

The Spartans look perfectly capable of extending their dominance of the Wolverines if they play the way they did against the Ducks. After stumbling in the second half in Eugene last year – a game that catapulted Oregon to the College Football Playoff and quarterback Marcus Mariota to the Heisman Trophy – Michigan State was aching for payback.

"The loss last year sucked," senior quarterback Connor Cook said. "It stuck with me all last season. It stuck with me watching them play for the national championship. It stuck with me all offseason."

Mariota was the difference maker last year. His replacement at quarterback for Oregon, Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams, was a mere shadow of Mariota.

Adams threw for 309 yards in just his second FBS start, so it wasn't like he was in over his head. But he displayed none of Mariota's scrambling prescience – more often running into trouble than away from it. His field vision at times seemed limited, and his touch was inconsistent.

Those shortcomings were vividly displayed at game's end, when Oregon had a chance to steal a victory in a game where it had been outplayed most of the night.

With a second-and-6 from the Michigan State 33, trailing by three points, Adams overthrew wideout Byron Marshall at the goal line. On third down, a Spartans blitz panicked him and resulted in a 10-yard sack. And on fourth down, Adams skittered around and underthrew Bralon Addison to effectively end the game.

"He's not Mariota," noted Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun, "so it wasn't the same."

Replacing a Heisman winner is a tall task. But so is replacing a 1,500-yard rusher, a 1,200-yard receiver and your top two tacklers. Michigan State had those holes to fill, and has done so impressively.

Coming into this season, senior receiver Aaron Burbridge hadn't had a game with more than five catches or 57 yards since October of his freshman year. Then he had 117 receiving yards in the opener against Western Michigan, and followed that up with eight catches for 101 yards against the Ducks.

"His confidence is very large right now," offensive coordinator Dave Warner said.

So is the confidence of young running backs Madre London and LJ Scott. Michigan State has churned out Le'Veon Bell and Jeremy Langford in recent years, and these two look like the next studs in the assembly line. London, a redshirt freshman, ran for 103 yards. Scott, a true freshman, went for 76 and two touchdowns.

"It's pretty amazing to see them grow up," Cook said.

The whole Michigan State program has grown up, rapidly, in the past two-plus seasons.

In 2013 the Spartans went 13-1, upset Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game and won the Rose Bowl. Last year they were beaten by Oregon and the Buckeyes, but still went on to win the Cotton Bowl over No. 4 Baylor with a miracle comeback.

Now they have hung another major skin on the wall – or feathers, if you insist. Winning this game could give Michigan State a chance to be a playoff team even if it loses to Ohio State on Nov. 21.

"Maybe at the end of the season [this win] pays you dividends and moves you forward, when people talk about strength of schedule and things like that," Dantonio said.

There isn't much strength in the next eight weeks, at least as it stands now. Air Force and Central Michigan round out the non-conference schedule and will not present quality win opportunities. Then Michigan State's first six Big Ten opponents all have a loss already: Purdue, Rutgers, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska and Maryland. So does the last opponent, Penn State.

Which leaves Ohio State.

The Buckeyes and Spartans are likely to spend the next two months eyeing each other from afar, wondering how they'll match up. For the third straight year, the winner of that game figures to be the winner of the league.

And even with all the talent at Urban Meyer's disposal in Columbus, Michigan State won't back down from that fight when it comes. The Spartans have grown up enough that they're ready for this season of great promise, ready to be part of the national championship conversation for the long haul.

Maybe someday that program down the road in Ann Arbor can get to this level, too.

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