Rating the Spartans on a scale of 1-10

Offense

MSU averaged 0.9 yards per rush, went 5 of 17 on third down, gained 312 yards total and still won.

Things didn't go well for most of the day, but the offense didn't turn it over (the team had one lost fumble on a botched fake punt) and made tons of plays late to come back.

Michigan may have been Brian Hoyer's defining moment, but this was his best. He overcame tons of drops to get it done. Oh, and Blair White is the real thing.

Rating: 6

Defense

Iowa's Shonn Greene charged through this defense. Wisconsin gashed it with two 100-yard backs, John Clay (111) and P.J. Hill (106). The Badgers rolled for 281 yards on the ground.

MSU didn't tackle very well, got wiped out too often on Wisconsin's power runs and got little pass rush.

The Spartans did avoid big plays through the air despite injuries galore in the secondary. They forced Wisconsin to go three and out three times in the second half. But this was far from a vintage performance.

Rating: 4

Special teams

A week ago, special teams threatened to ruin the day for MSU at Michigan. On Saturday, the kicking game saved the day. It was phenomenal.

Junior Brett Swenson's exploits can't be overstated. A 50-yard bomb in the fourth quarter made the game winner possible. He was 4 of 4 and is now 19 of 23 on the season, a weapon few teams can match.

Aaron Bates (45.4 per punt) came up big as well. The failed fake is the only thing that went wrong.

Rating: 9

Overall

Did MSU suffer a letdown? Well, a letdown of some kind is guaranteed for an MSU team that just played Ohio State and Michigan in successive weeks.

But no, the Spartans were not emotionally flat. They were simply flattened. This was the clearest example yet of the small margin for error in college football.

It's a great MSU season. It's a dismal Wisconsin season. But I'll take the Badgers seven out of 10 times on a neutral field. Bottom line: MSU's mental toughness prevailed.

Rating: 7

Bottom line

There were no celebration plans for Javon Ringer.

"I'm actually gonna go lay down," he said after the game, looking and sounding feeble.

It was a hamstring and a shoulder last week. It was a stomach virus this week. Ringer lost 10 pounds, couldn't sleep, had hot flashes, barely practiced.

He was visibly less explosive Saturday. And MSU has no ground game without him. The Spartans need to get Ringer through Purdue and into a much-needed off week. Right now, his battery on a scale of 1-10 is at: 4