EAST LANSING — Maverick Hansen approached his teammate Michigan State Football captains on Sunday. They agreed.

Saturday loss to Michigan It turned out to be a crucial moment for a players-only meeting.

“We had to talk about things that aren’t going very well with the team right now,” quarterback Aidan Chiles said Tuesday. “We have to figure things out.”

In reality, every day after practice in the locker room is a consolation for a team away from the coaches. So whenever news of a player-only meeting breaks, a knee-jerk reaction is to think the worst.

However, there are two types of player meetings: the more serious ones usually address disagreements within the team. These spartans They don’t seem to be addressing those issues.

The second reason is to maintain concentration and prevent a fracture beforehand. And Hansen’s call to his teammates represented a moment of MSU understanding its 24-17 loss to the Wolverines, with another physical confrontation following their game of emotional rivalry, does not define this team.

Hansen is a sixth-year senior who bridges the gap between Mark Dantonio’s era of expected success through the tumultuous highs and lows under Mel Tucker and is now a vital voice for new coach Jonathan Smith. Hansen has experienced Dantonio’s old aphorism: November is a season unto itself. And there are four games left to play Get the Spartans where they want to be. in Smith’s first year.

This month becomes a playoff hunt for MSU (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten). Not for a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, although that was never the expectation. A road loss at Boston College started a three-game losing streak that ended any far-fetched dreams, and included crushing losses to Oregon and Ohio State.

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What Hansen’s reunion represents is an understanding of where this program is, losing bowl games in three of the last four seasons. Needing one more taste of the postseason to assure players and fans that the The direction of the new coaching staff. Have the Spartans pinpointed a moment when Dantonio led them to consistency unmatched in program history?

MSU made 12 bowl games in Dantonio’s 13 seasons, with just two losing records in 2009 and 2016. The peak (three Big Ten titles in six seasons, one CFP appearance) remains Smith’s ultimate goal, but The pillars of Dantonio’s early years laid the necessary foundation to reach those heights.

There is no 2010 conference championship without reaching the Champs Sports Bowl in 2007. There is no victory in the Rose Bowl without the victory in the Outback Bowl two years earlier. There is no place for the 2015 CFP without a run to the Cotton Bowl on the same field 364 days earlier.

For Smith and his players, there is no trip to the bowl without two more wins in their last four games. And the final stretch begins on Saturday with another daunting task, a visit of the undefeated and red-hot No. 13 Indiana (3:30 p.m., Peacock).

“As always, obviously this week we’re going to focus on Indiana,” tight end Jack Velling said Tuesday. “But it’s always about us and getting a win for ourselves and going out and doing it. Everyone focused on their 1 of 11, which is the most important thing. If we could go out and win and ruin their season, that would be a good thing. But I think we are more focused on ourselves and doing our part.”

MSU’s season has been organized into a three-act arc, with the game against the Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0) the closing of a second chapter. A second bye week follows, giving the Spartans another chance to reflect and correct before the final three-game stretch. How they finish will determine if there is an encore in December.

That makes the timing of Hansen calling a meeting critical. In essence, Saturday becomes a one-game season for MSU. There can be no lingering effects from the defeat of a close rivalry or the altercation at the end of the game.

“That’s football, that’s part of the game,” second-year defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said Wednesday. “That’s why we play this game. It builds your character. And I feel like we’re all at the point where we can (go), ‘Okay, we lost. We’re on to the next one.’ Now what? The most important game is the next one, so that’s our main goal.”

The ability to leave the UM game in the past also helped Dantonio define his program and proved to be a problem for Tucker. Dantonio’s 8-5 record against the Wolverines set a benchmark for MSU coaches to follow, but his 11-2 mark in the next game could be even more impressive. Tucker became the first Spartans coach to defeat UM on his first two tries, but MSU lost both times in the next game.

Dantonio’s ability to refocus in November played a big role in the success, going 32-15 to close the regular season in his 13th year. MSU is 7-9 in the final month of the season over the last four years.

To return to a bowl game for the first time since 2021, the Spartans must win two more times. The schedule is favorably late, with a Nov. 16 trip to No. 24 Illinois (6-2, 3-2) followed by home games against Purdue (1-6, 0-4) and Rutgers (4-4 , 1-4).

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Beating Indiana would go a long way toward relieving some of the tension of the last three games and would show that Smith and his staff can maintain the focus of the players they’re looking for.

“We’ve talked about addressing the process,” Smith said Monday. “However it turns out on Saturday, we’ll see on Sunday and move on. I’m counting on this player-led team to do that…

“I look at our schedule and I think it has been difficult. We’ve played against some real teams. But I’m proud of our group as we continue to fight. I think we’ve gained confidence as the year has gone on. We can go toe to toe with almost anyone. And now we want to play our best football in November.”

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Michigan State had a message in a players-only meeting after Michigan loss