It's time to hit the panic button on Michigan State

It’s the middle of October and Michigan State has two wins.

That’s not a typo, not a joke. The Spartans, who played in the College Football Playoff a year ago, have as many wins as Big Ten companions Rutgers and Illinois. Michigan State has one fewer win than a Purdue team that likely will be looking for a new coach this offseason.

The latest disappointment for the Spartans was a 54-40 loss to Northwestern. The game started great with a 14-0 lead, but that was the only positive thing that could be said about the Spartans’ performance. After that 14-0 lead, the Wildcats proceeded to outscore the Spartans 19-3 in the first half and then scored on their first possession of the second half.

It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly has failed for the Spartans because there’s a lot of blame to go around. The offense has been inconsistent this season. One could argue the Spartan quarterbacks — Tyler O’Connor and Brian Lewerke — played well on Saturday. They combined for 380 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception. But the running game was nonexistent. Lewerke was the team’s leading rusher with 30 of the team’s 51 rushing yards. In fact, there have only been a few games where the passing and running games have actually complemented each other and the Spartans are 2-1 in those contests.

And then you look at the defense. Shockingly, the defensive numbers weren’t that bad coming into the game. Northwestern doubled the Spartans’ average points per game (25.2), but until this week, the Spartans hadn’t given up an abnormally high amount of points. So why today? That’s a question even defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is wrestling with.

“Obviously, a couple of those routes, our guys knew what was coming, they were talking about it on the field, but they executed it, they made plays,” Tressel said after Saturday’s loss. “We did try to get pressure, we probably blitzed a little more than we have been, but it’s frustrating when you know something’s coming and you don’t make a play.”

Some might say they saw a letdown coming. A year ago, Michigan State was one of the most experienced teams in the conference. It was plus-14 in turnovers and won several close games despite not always playing well. Much of that was because of three-year starting quarterback Connor Cook. Coming into the season, there was some hope O’Connor could replace Cook without a hiccup because of the way he led the Spartans to a win against Ohio State a year ago. But clearly, by today’s benching, that hasn’t been the case.

With four consecutive losses and needing to win four of their last six games for bowl eligibility, it’s definitely time to hit the panic button. It’s important to note that two of those final six games are against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan. The Spartans also will be tangling with Rutgers and Illinois to truly determine which is the worst team in the conference.

Not sure anyone saw this as a rebuilding year for the Spartans, but it’s surely shaping up that way in the most disappointing fashion.

For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday