Michigan State Destroys Michigan, but Are Spartans Ready for Ohio State?

Michigan State was not at its best against Michigan. But in 2014, "not-its-best" is good enough to beat the its in-state rival by 24 points, as it did, 35-11, on Saturday.

The Wolverines didn't score their first touchdown until the 3:40 mark of the fourth quarter, ending a touchdown-less streak against MSU that dated back to 2011. The streak spanned roughly 186 minutes of game time, per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press:

"Now [our younger players] know what we talk about," said Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio of the culture he's created for this rivalry, per Rexrode. "Now they know."

But let's be honest: Excepting the obvious personal factors—revenge, spite, little-brother syndrome, schadenfreude, etc.—Saturday's win was less about what Michigan State did to Michigan and more about what it might do for the rest of the Big Ten season.

Specifically, it was about whether MSU is ready for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes come to East Lansing Nov. 8 for a rematch of last year's Big Ten title game, and when they do, it's a fair bet to say the Big Ten East will be on the line. If the winner of that game finishes the season with one loss, it will have either a decent, good or great argument for inclusion in the College Football Playoff, depending on what happens with the highly ranked teams in other conferences.

But despite the final score/stats from Saturday's win against Michigan, the Spartans have some work to do before the biggest game of their season in two weeks—or at least that is true of one player

MSU will not beat the Buckeyes unless its quarterback, Connor Cook, can snap out of his moderate funk.

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Cook's final stats from Saturday look decent (12 of 22 completions for 227 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions) but belie how much he struggled for the majority of the game.

His leadership was manifest when he plowed through safety Delano Hill on the Spartans' first possession—a hit that B/R's Michael Felder called a "baptism"—but his footwork, decision-making and accuracy lagged behind his intangible will to win.

Al Goldis/Associated Press

Yes, the wind was a factor, but that doesn't excuse some of Cook's poorer throws. He overshot Tony Lippett across the middle on the first drive of the game and Aaron Burbridge on a deep ball that should have been a touchdown a few drives later. The wide-open misses continued well into the second half.

Against Michigan, Sparty could afford for Cook to leave points on the board.

Against Ohio State, it needs every single point it can get.

Cook made his name at the end of last season by playing his two best games in Michigan State's biggest: the Big Ten Championship and the Rose Bowl. He followed suit with a gutsy performance at Oregon earlier this season, playing well despite the 46-27 defeat.

But in MSU's two biggest games since the Oregon loss (home tilts with Nebraska and Michigan), Cook has been up-and-down. Not bad, but definitely not good. And definitely, definitely not great.

Cook was great when Michigan State beat Ohio State in Lucas Oil Stadium last season, finishing with 304 yards and three touchdowns. His 33-yard touchdown pass to Lippett looked a lot like what he was trying to do when he overshot Burbridge on Saturday:

Cook doesn't have a "get right" game between now and Nov. 8. He will take his first snap against Ohio State on the heels of his worst stretch of football since the early part of last season. He has not looked this bad for this long since he first "made the leap" for MSU.

The Spartans defense looked ready for Ohio State against Michigan, feeding off strong performances from Marcus Rush, Shilique Calhoun, Taiwan Jones, Ed Davis, Darian Hicks and Kurtis Drummond to give Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner an appropriate East Lansing send-off.

The offense—for the most part—looked ready for the Buckeyes as well, feeding off a road-grating offensive line and a great game from running back Jeremy Langford to finish with 446 total yards.

There are more positives than negatives to take away from Saturday's game, but that doesn't change the fact that the Spartan who looked the least ready for OSU is the most important player on the team.

So, is Michigan State ready for the Buckeyes? On aggregate, the answer is yes. And it just took a marked step in the right direction. But it can't afford to rest on its laurels during this upcoming bye week.

The Spartans need to get their leader back in sync.