Ohio State Loss Alarming For Spartan Fans

Watching Saturday's rout from the fourth row of the student section gave me some perspective on where this Michigan State program is right now: This is a good team still, yet one that is far from being a "great" one. The tandem of Beanie Wells and Terelle Pryor was far more than the Spartans could handle. When put their attention on stopping Wells, they'd just get burned by Pryor. And when they put their attention on covering Pryor, Wells would punch it up the middle for an eight-yard gain. Play after play after play. This Michigan State team was completely overmatched and I believe that even if they had played a good game, Ohio State still would have beaten them soundly. 

While I agree that Dantonio has brought some much-needed respect and honor to this football team, it is also clear that it will take a few years until he his able to bring in the kind of talent that is necessary to compete with Ohio State and Penn State. Each win helps this program garner

 some respect from recruits

 but fans must know that this is a gradual process. Beanie and Pryor are symbolic of the benchmark for recruiting that will help turn Michigan State into a perennial powerhouse. The Spartans may not be there yet, but the path to get there should be awfully fun to watch.