EAST LANSING, Mich. — Be thankful, Badger fans. Be thankful the Badgers have won, and moreover, be thankful that you are not Michigan State fans.

You could almost see the tears falling from the Spartan faithful in the club-level boxes, and you could feel the anger and agony in the press box from the home team’s media, who could not put a finger on the Spartan collapse.

Perhaps there is no team in the country that has been as big a disappointment as the Spartans have been this season. The Spartans were picked near the top in many pundits’ preseason Big Ten prognostications. Yet what have they done with their star receiver and supposedly star QB Jeff Smoker?

Charles Rogers has been impressive all season, just as he was against the Badgers. Yet just as it was against the Badgers, his play has often been too little too late.

Jeff Smoker is another story all together. The All-Big Ten quarterback was suspended from the team indefinitely Thursday. Rumors have swirled in the days following as to what the reason for the suspension was. The suspension comes following speculation that a good number of players on the team were hungover (including Smoker) for last week’s game against Minnesota.

Yes, be very thankful that you are not a Michigan State student. The Spartans look like a football team that have quit on their coach and have quit on their season. They were not ready for what was without a doubt a crucial game if they hoped to salvage any part of their season.

The Badgers were not without struggles of their own preceding this game. They had lost three consecutive games. They were on the road in a hostile environment. They started a quarterback just a week off of a concussion after having only participated in a limited amount of practice last week. The team had also just finally come to the conclusion that they would face the rest of the season without Lee Evans. Despite all this, the Badgers showed no signs of quitting.

Instead, they showed resolve.

“Winning is good for the soul,” commented Barry Alvarez after the game. Apparently the Badgers wanted their souls to feel good Saturday night, because from the opening kickoff Wisconsin went about destroying the Spartans in traditional Wisconsin fashion.

Anthony Davis, Dwayne Smith and Brooks Bollinger tore through the Spartan defense on the ground. The Wisconsin offensive line absolutely dominated against the Michigan State front. The majority of the running plays had linemen getting to their second-level blocks against linebackers, and when that happens, there is no stopping Wisconsin.

With the running game clicking, the passing game suddenly became more effective and efficient than it had been during the recent Badger losing streak.

The Badgers also stayed out of second-and-long and third-and-long situations throughout the majority of the evening. Of the several times they did get into those situations, they did a good job getting out of them. One of their touchdowns came facing second and 10 and a Spartan blitz. The offense did what they have not done often this season — they adjusted and victimized the defense because of their blitz.

Two teams that had struggled to meet high expectations met at Spartan field Saturday evening. Yet once the game began, it was obvious that one team had abandoned the season while the other team had continued to believe in what it could accomplish.

True, it is only one victory and the Badgers soon face the suddenly unenviable task of taking on an Iowa team that destroyed Michigan at home, but things suddenly do not look so bad in Madison.

While Michigan State will struggle throughout the week to lay to rest whatever controversy Smoker stirred up, the Badgers will enjoy a win. While Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams will face critics calling for his dismissal and wondering why and how a coach and program that recruits so well can play so poorly, Wisconsin will prepare to face the Hawkeyes.

While Michigan State will continue to break in a new quarterback halfway through the season, Wisconsin remains in the capable hands of Bollinger and Jim Sorgi.