When seemingly everybody else had written off the Michigan State football program in 2023, the Spartans believed in themselves, and earned a victory over a surging Nebraska team that came into East Lansing on a three-game winning streak.

On senior day, the Spartans defeated the Cornhuskers by a final score of 20-17 on Saturday afternoon, and ended a nightmare six-game losing streak after going through adversity both on and off the field.

It feels like a weight has been lifted off of the shoulders of Michigan State interim head coach Harlon Barnett and the rest of the Spartans.

"Finally, right?" Barnett said. "Finally got us a victory, really happy for our guys. All we talked about was 'finish, finish, finish,' and that's what they did. We finally finished one and got a victory, so really happy for our players, awesome feeling in the locker and we love to have that. It's the first of four games we have here in the month of November and we're going to keep trying to 'finish, finish, finish' in everything that we do."

In the final game at Spartan Stadium in 2023, Barnett got his first victory at the helm since taking over the program in September following the suspension (and eventual firing) of Mel Tucker. It was also the first Big Ten win of the season for MSU, as the Spartans improve to 3-6 overall this season and 1-5 in conference play.

While the on-the-field results before Saturday's win over the Cornhuskers have been disappointing, and the off-the-field turmoil has put the people within the program through an emotional roller-coaster, Barnett's focus has been on keeping the coaches and the players "unified." It is hard to deny that he has done a tremendous job of keeping the team together through it all.

"I think it was a combination of things — our coaches, our players, our staff, our entire staff, of just buying in," Barnett said when asked how the team has stayed together through all of the adversity. "When I first got put in this position, the first thing I did at the team meeting was talking about staying unified. I said, 'We have to be unified. Everybody's gotta be pulling the rope from the same end, we can't be playing tug-of-war in our own building.' And those guys bought in, really proud of them for doing that, and I'll never forget these guys because every week they bounce back."

Barnett said the senior day win for the 2023 Spartans was "absolutely" better than his 76-14 senior day victory over Northwestern during his final home game as a player in 1989. He also mentioned that it was "tough" to navigate through a long losing streak.

As one might expect, the Michigan State locker room was full of excitement after coming out victorious against Nebraska. Snapping a six-game skid, and getting a win for the seniors, for Barnett and for the team as a whole could be just the morale boost that the Spartans need to close out the rest of the 2023 season.

"Everybody's hugging and saying, 'I love you,'" Barnett said about the locker room after the win. "They're hugging you and dancing and all that kind of stuff. It was great, like you would anticipate a locker room to be (after a victory). I know this was the first win (since I took over), and one win, and we understand we have another game to play, but it was something to celebrate for our guys with all the adversity we've been going through throughout the course of this season. It was very joyful."

Barnett also complimented the defense and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton's game plan. He likes the way the unit has been playing over the past couple of weeks, including in the pass rush.

Michigan State went into the game versus Nebraska with an interesting plan at the quarterback position. Redshirt freshman Katin Houser started for the fourth game in a row, but true freshman Sam Leavitt came in to lead the Spartans on the third drive of each half. Spartans Illustrated had reported before the game that this would be the case in the first half, and Barnett later said on the pregame radio show that he Leavitt was expected to get some reps.

Houser completed 13 of his 20 pass attempts (65%) and threw for a career high 165 yards. He also threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick (the first touchdown reception of Fitzpatrick's career) and did not turn the ball over. In fact, Michigan State did not have a single giveaway as a team, while Nebraska had three.

Meanwhile, Leavitt only threw two passes, and his only completion was a 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr.

"I thought they did well," Barnett said about the quarterbacks. "I thought Katin (Houser) actually stepped up, no turnovers, right? No turnovers, he runs the offense, he understands the offense, and the plan that we had for today is what we executed. Of course, I didn't tell you all this during the week, but I knew this, I knew they were both going to play. The plan was, every third series of a half, that's when we were gonna put Sam (Leavitt) in. It was one, two, Sam was in (on the third possession), then second half, one, two, Sam was in (on the third possession of the second half), and that was it, we said regardless of how they were playing. Now obviously if it got down to the point where we need to say, 'Hey, we need to go back and put him back in,' for whatever reason, we could've done that. We just stuck to the plan, and it worked out for us today."

Barnett has mentioned multiple times this season that although he is a true freshman, Leavitt exudes confidence and expects to succeed. The coaching staff was comfortable putting Leavitt out there against Nebraska's defense.

"Like I say every time I bring up Sam, you should get tired of me saying it, and I think some of you (media members) have met him now, but he's very, very confident," Barnett said about Leavitt. "(He's) on the border of cocky, but he's not cocky, he's very, very confident, and I love that about him, just like I say I love the competitiveness. He's a competitor, too, but I always bring up competitor in Katin (Houser), but when you see him going out there and he's confident, he makes you feel confident and that's what confident people do. That's what we've seen in Sam since he's been here, and I think you guys have seen it as well when he's on the field."

Following the game, Houser spoke about the win, the quarterback rotation and how the team was able to close things out late.

As for the platoon with Leavitt, Houser knew the plan going in and was receptive to it. He's used to splitting time at quarterback going back to his high school days, and was supportive of Leavitt while he was in the game.

"Yeah, I knew about that (going into the game)," Houser said about Leavitt getting snaps. "I mean, Sam's a good player, he deserves to be out in the field, he makes plays for us. So, I'm totally fine rotating and stuff like that, I've done it before. I just got to capitalize on my opportunities and then cheer for Sam when he's out there, so that's how I kind of approach it."

With that said, Houser did admit that swapping in and out can mess with his rhythm a little bit, but it's not something that is a detriment to his game or even something that bothers him.

"At times, yeah, I feel like it (can)," Houser explained when asked if coming in and out of the game can disrupt his rhythm. "But, for the most part, I feel like when I get in, I'm confident. I know what I'm supposed to be doing, so that doesn't really alter my rhythm too much, to be honest."

Now with four starts under his belt, Houser continues to build upon that aforementioned confidence. The more game reps he gets, the more comfortable he feels commanding the offense.

"I feel like just getting that game experience is something that has helped me a lot while I play this game," Houser said. "So, the more games I play, the more experience I get, I feel like the better I'm improving, and I feel like I'm improving every week."

When asked how it felt to get a win, Houser said he was going to "enjoy" it, but then the focus soon shifts to next week's opponent, Ohio State. For now, though, it feels pretty special.

"It's surreal, for sure," Houser said about finally getting a victory. "I know we had some troubles, just couldn't get a win, and I feel like today, the whole team played together and we were able to finish out in the fourth quarter. I'm so proud of our guys, so proud of our team, we were able get that win, so it feels good."

Houser also talked about what it meant for the team to get Barnett his first victory as Michigan State's interim head coach.

"It means everything," Houser said about getting Barnett his first win. "He's coached us so well and we really just wanted to go out and get this win for him, and I feel like it really meant a lot to him, so I'm really happy we got that win."

Houser mentioned that the biggest thing he and the team needs to do in the fourth quarter of game is "making good decisions." He said the main thing is "protecting the football" and not "forcing" things when the game is on the line, and that's what he accomplished on Saturday. He also credited the defense for closing the game out.

Houser said he was also "happy" to get Fitzpatrick his first career touchdown, and that he "trusts" fellow wide receiver Tyrell Henry "at all times."

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