The season opener for Michigan State was less than encouraging. 

They were taking on a harmless bunch of Broncos from Western Michigan.  The Big Ten squad, at home, was supposed to cruise over the meager MAC opponent.  The Spartans sputtered their way to an ugly victory. 

They rotated quarterbacks, failed to move the ball consistently, and wound up scoring one offensive touchdown on the night.  The performance did not bode well for the immediate future.  The thought of having to watch this offense bang its head against the wall for 11 more weeks made many Spartan followers cry themselves to sleep.  The questions were many; solutions were a mystery. 

How were they going to score points?  Who was going to lead the offense?  Where is Tony Banks, and does he have any eligibility left? 

But as the season began to unfold, it became clear something special was taking place on the other side of the ball.  The defense, thought to be a major strength heading into the season, was somehow even better than originally anticipated.  They were not just good, or great...they were utterly dominant.

Followed the Script

Each game would follow the same script.  The Spartan offense would struggle throughout the first half.  The defense would settle in, refusing to budge.  Finally, somewhere along the way, Connor Cook would do something productive.  He’d find a big pass or hit a timely first down.  Now, they were up 10 or 14, a two-possession lead; for the 2013 Michigan State defense, this meant the game was over.

Yet, even as the wins kept piling up, you had that funny feeling that Mark Dantonio’s crew would revert to pre-season expectations at a certain point.  After all, the quarterback play was still fairly dodgy, and tricky road games in Lincoln and Evanston remained. 

Over the years, Sparty developed a reputation similar to that of the Lions.  Win enough games to put yourselves in position to do something special, then when the heat gets turned up, go find a corner to huddle in while the next man up gets the glory.  The Lions are perfecting that act as we speak.

But the Michigan State defense would not cave.  They forced a whopping five turnovers in the showdown against Nebraska.  They followed it up a week later by limiting Northwestern to just two measly field goals. 

Little More Than an Afterthought

When the dust settled on the Big Ten campaign, the Spartans were still without a tally under the L in the standings.  This team considered little more than an afterthought during the early part of the season had come through unscathed, and more often than not, unthreatened. 

When the stage was set for Saturday night’s championship game against Ohio State, the season had already been deemed a smashing success.  The hated Wolverines had been dispatched with ease (which is becoming an annual thing), the conference season was completed flawlessly, and the long-awaited trip back to Pasadena was all but assured, regardless of this final result.

Ohio State was the team playing for its season.  After 24 straight victories, their golden opportunity had finally arrived.  Win one more game and a berth in the National Championship was guaranteed.  Just an easy W against a team they had defeated in eight of nine tries, and Urban Meyer’s group of scholars would be off to play for all the marbles on January 6th.

But Michigan State has refused to stay on script throughout the year.  The director tells them to study their lines, play the part the way it says they should; lose 3-4 games, and move on to ’14.  But they went off-book, decided to improv; win when they were supposed to win, and win when they were supposed to lose. 

Even when Braxton Miller started running wild on the turbocharged Lucas Oil turf, his Buckeyes exploding for 24 unanswered points, Dantonio and his boys remained poised.  There are certain clubs that get rattled when things start going the other way.  They see the opposing charge as too much to overcome, the momentum impossible to regain, losing a mere inevitably.  The 2013 Spartans relished such adversity.

The fourth quarter was symbolic of the entire season.  Cook led the offense on an efficient drive, culminating in a lead-changing touchdown.  And as they have done from day one, the defense took over from there. 

Ohio State's Limited Possessions

Ohio State possessed the ball three times in the final period.  They managed a total of one first down and exactly zero points.  The scrambling of Miller had been contained, Carlos Hyde had finally been corralled, and the final four pass attempts went begging.  The green and white defenders took ownership of the event, and in doing so, gave Michigan State its biggest victory in the last 25 years.

Most teams that are remembered historically have individual players that leave lasting impressions.  Super Bowl winners are led by quarterbacks like Unitas, Montana, Brady.  NBA champions have hall of famers like Russell, Jordan, Duncan.  This Michigan State team is different; their achievements and memories will live on around kitchen tables for decades to come, yet none of those conversations will begin with the mention of a specific individual.

This was a team in every sense of the word.  The defense carried the day, but received just the right amount of support from an underrated unit on offense.  The special teams were outstanding.  George Blaha was his endearingly homeristic self on the radio all year long. 

The coaching staff played conservative, straightforward football, while remaining unafraid to roll the dice when the stakes were highest; Dantonio’s call for an onside kick in the fourth quarter was just the right blend of daring and reason.  He is not the type of leader who orders such a play to make splashy headlines or steal the postgame spotlight; just a proper gamble in an appropriate spot that could help to seal the victory.

A season that started with little more than a whisper against Western Michigan ended with a resounding boom against Ohio State. 

And nobody saw it coming.