The Spartans have rolled to an impressive 4-0 record and done it with an explosive offense that ranks first in the Big Ten in scoring, passing and total yards per game.

But the 11th-ranked team in the nation will learn a lot more about itself from its performance this week against archrival Michigan. The Spartans find themselves in the rare position of being favored against the Wolverines. Michigan State has regularly taken beatings from its cross-state opponent, and head coach John L. Smith is hungry to get a win over the Wolverines after taking losses in his first two games with them.

He minimized the rivalry, saying the Spartans hadn't done in enough in games with Michigan to give the meetings much life. "It's a big game, without a doubt," Smith said. "But we haven't made it a rivalry yet. We have to go to the field and do it. We haven't done it out there. At least since I've been here we haven't done it. You get your tail kicked all the time, it's not much of a rivalry, is it?"

But the Spartans have plenty of fire and if they need any extra inspiration, they can look back to last year's 45-37 loss to the Wolverines in triple overtime.

"You feel bad for your guys when you know how hard they played," Smith said. "And you want to put your arm around all of them and hug them and say, 'Hey, we're gonna improve. We're gonna get better.'"

That's just what the Spartans have done. QB Drew Stanton may be the best offensive player in the conference. He has completed 79-of-108 passes for 1,184 yards with 13 TDs and is coming off a five-TD performance against Illinois.

But the Wolverines are a far better team than the Illini. Michigan's defense has played better this year than they were expected to. If they can slow down Stanton & Co., self-doubt could once again creep in on the Michigan State sidelines.

Smith is doing everything he can to make sure that doesn't happen.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Not only do the Spartans have the No. 1 offense in the conference, they rank third in the nation with 594.3 yards per game. The Spartans have the most efficient passing game in the nation as they check in with a rating of 199.5. Michigan has done a solid job of stopping the pass this year (151.5 yards allowed per game), but they have not seen an attack or a quarterback anywhere as proficient as Drew Stanton.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The Spartans have been fairly vulnerable on defense, giving up 384.8 yards per game. That's only eighth in the Big Ten and that could prove to be just the tonic that Michigan needs in order to have its struggling offense come to life.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We need to prove we can compete with anyone in the Big Ten. We feel that way, we've been saying that for a while, but it's kind of gone by the wayside a little bit with the media because (they say), 'Oh, they're going to fall back to their old ways.' I think this is the game for us to show that we're every bit as good as we think we are." -- Michigan State QB Drew Stanton on the Spartans' opportunity to step up vs. Michigan this week.

THIS WEEK'S GAME: vs. Michigan, Oct. 1 -- This is a huge game for No. 11 Michigan State and it's followed by another monster after their bye week at Ohio State. John L. Smith's team is one of the top offensive teams in the country and they will have to be at their best vs. the Wolverines and the Buckeyes if they want to move up in the rankings.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Drew Stanton -- Is he a Heisman Trophy candidate? Stanton is certainly playing like it, with an average of 326.8 yards per game. He has thrown 13 TD passes and has been razor sharp in his execution.

WR Matt Trannon -- Probably the most dangerous receiver on the team. Trannon has caught 16-301-4 and is very tough to bring down after the catch.

RB Javon Ringer -- An explosively quick running back with surprising strength at 5-9, 185 pounds. Ringer has rushed for 367 yards and four TDs while averaging 9.4 yards per carry. If he can continue to make explosive runs, that will give Stanton even more opportunities to come up with big plays in the passing game.

LB Kaleb Thornhill -- An active tackler who ranks second on the team with 28 stops. He also has one TFL and one pass defensed.

ROSTER REPORT: Linebacker David Herron suffered a mild concussion early in the first half and didn't play the rest of the game. John L. Smith said he should be fine for the Michigan game. ... PK John Goss (knee) is probable, but WR Aaron Alexander (foot) are sidelined indefinitely.