Even though I picked MSU to lose to Notre Dame last Saturday, taking the L still hurts.

That game could have been ugly. Notre Dame put 14 points on the board in 5 minutes. I hadn't even settled in to watch the game before State was down two scores.

I could hear it loud and clear. "Same Old Spartans (SOS)." I could hear that coming from MSU fans and followers of other area teams. It looked like the heart-breaking loss to Central Michigan last week stayed with the squad.

But somehow, MSU rose up to take a one-point lead into the locker room. The game went from looking like Tila Tequila to Halle Berry in a hurry, and, as a friend astutely pointed out, I became MUCH more confident in State pulling out its seventh straight win at Notre Dame stadium. A hundred times more confident than I was going into the game. Those Same Old Spartans would have quit after getting down early and lost, 45-7. These Spartans fought valiantly and nearly pulled it out.

You know how the game turned out. Both teams fought hard throughout the second half, with ND escaping with a 33-30 win, thus helping its head coach's case as to why he should not be sent back to Nal Hutta.

There were some questionable calls made in the game: State blitzed a lot in the game, but I wish they would have done it more early on. The secondary continued to play soft coverage. The running game remains shaky at best.

The bad thing about the loss is that MSU should have played for OT after signal-caller Kirk Cousins (no more dueling QBs, Coach D. Keith Nichol should be used like Michigan uses Denard Robinson AT THE MOST) overshot tailback Larry Caper for what would have been the winning score. I know Cousins played masterfully up until the Play That Shall Not Be Named happened, but don't put him in that position.

There were 35 seconds left in regulation and State had the ball at ND's 18-yard line. I know we didn't have any more timeouts, but run the ball up the middle, let Brett Swenson nail a chip shot, and you head into OT.

MSU is two plays away from being 3-0. I'm not gonna play "coulda, shoulda, woulda" but this went from potentially being a special season, to now being a campaign that must be salvaged, starting with a win at Wisconsin Saturday. A 1-3 start with a game against Michigan on the horizon would send local media outlets and message boards into a tizzy (yea, I used that word).

But I don't see the start as State taking a step back. I picked MSU to finish 7-5 this season and said 2010 is the year we win the Big Ten. I thought the defense would be better, but I questioned the ability of the team to challenge for a New Year's Day bowl after losing 97 percent of its rushing attack and a senior QB who knew how to manage a game.

What I see is a fairly young team (at a number of key positions) working its way into a lather. Yea, I think State will finish middle of the pack in the conference, but the team is much more talented than in past years.

I don't see a collapse happening. In years past, a start like this would have meant a 4-8 finish and fans calling for the coach's head. Coach Mark Dantonio will rally the troops and State should be able to go 6-3 the rest of the way.

So, no, these aren't the Same Old Spartans.

At least I hope they're not.