In his first 20 games in East Lansing, Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio has made the Spartans respectable again.
Gone are the Bobby Williams and John L. Smith days of early optimism followed by catastrophic losses in the Big Ten Conference season.
These Spartans have shown grit and determination that haven't been seen since the Nick Saban era.
But Michigan State still stands at a crossroads.
The Spartans are now established as a solid, "middle of the road" Big Ten team. A 6-1 start to the season, top 20 rankings in every poll and a second straight bowl-game berth are proof that MSU has buried the ineptitude of former coaching regimes.
What is still out there, though, is elite status in the conference. A win against No. 12 Ohio State would be a big step in that direction.
So far, Dantonio has guided the Spartans to a 13-7 record. Respectable, no question about it. But the thing that stands out about this era isn't the wins, it's the losses.
Under Dantonio, Michigan State hasn't lost by more than a touchdown. Last year, the Spartans nearly beat No. 1 Ohio State and No. 9 Wisconsin, both on the road. They almost got past Michigan and they came close to beating Matt Ryan and Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl. And to start this season, MSU almost upstaged Cal in the nationally televised opener.
Dantonio needs to earn that illustrious "signature" win at Michigan State. It's one of the few things he hasn't done thus far in his tenure.
And there would be no better time for that win than Saturday.
Dantonio got his first real job working for Jim Tressel for five years at Youngstown State. And when Tressel took the OSU job, Dantonio followed and put together the Buckeye defense that won the 2002 national championship.
Nothing would put a stamp on Dantonio's career more than a win over his mentor. And, it would come as a three-point underdog in a game nobody would be terribly surprised to see the Spartans lose.
Are signature wins the mark of an outstanding program? Absolutely not.
It only took Rich Rodriguez four weeks to achieve that feat in Ann Arbor when he led Michigan to a come-from-behind win over a ranked Wisconsin team. Then he followed it up with a humbling 45-20 loss to Illinois and a "signature" loss to 1-4 Toledo.
Michigan's season will go down as a disappointment. But at least there will be that one win to build off of for next year.
Michigan State needs that one win to establish itself as a contender, something the Spartans haven't claimed in nearly a decade.
A win keeps State's Rose Bowl dreams alive. A loss, and the Spartans are campaigning for the Outback Bowl.
On one hand, that doesn't seem all that bad, considering State wasn't expected to do much this year.
But there has to come a point when almost isn't the mark of your program.
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