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Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio is the first football coach in school history to lead the Spartans to four 10-win seasons over a 5-year span.

(AP Photo)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Mark Dantonio has his own narrative, and in case you missed it Saturday night, the Michigan State football program is celebrating a well-earned place among college football's elite.

Dantonio has decided his team should be regarded among the nation's best, and if the pollsters and College Football Playoff selection committee don't agree, that's their problem.

The history books back up Dantonio's assertion, and the Spartans head coach made it clear he expects his fan base to share the same opinion.

"This football team is 15-1 the last two years (in the Big Ten), we've lost one game in the Big Ten and we've won a lot of football games here,'' Dantonio said, minutes after the Spartans pounded Penn State 34-10 in Beaver Stadium. "In two seasons, 23-3 is pretty good.''

It's more than pretty good -- it's an amazing achievement for Dantonio and his staff, who have now won 10 or more games four out of the last five years.

To put that into perspective, Michigan State has only had six seasons of 10 wins or more in its football history.

The Spartans have done it with defense, leading the Big Ten in total defense and run defense in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Dantonio is showing this season he also can do it with offense. Michigan State has shattered virtually every school single-season record and finds itself in the elite company of Baylor and Oregon in scoring 24 or more points in each of the past 14 consecutive games.

Dantonio has done it by winning the games he's supposed to win -- now 29-0 when the Spartans are ranked and playing an unranked opponent. And he's done it by winning some games he's not supposed to win, upsetting Ohio State in the Big Ten title game last season and then surprising Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

Most importantly, Dantonio has done it without any hint of NCAA violations, which explains why he has earned the respect of coaches across the country. MSU has been ranked higher in the Amway Coaches Poll than in the Grantland Rice Super 16 and AP Top 25 polls most of this season.

Is Dantonio's way of recruiting three-star players, redshirting the majority of them and preaching "faith, family and football" a sustainable model?

Against the odds, it has been to this point.

When the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings come out on Tuesday night, there's a chance Michigan State could be positioned for a spot in the Orange Bowl.

The official pairings won't come out until Dec. 7, after all the league title games have been played.

But we know the Miami postseason bowl is at liberty to take the highest-ranked, non-conference champion that's not in the playoff from the SEC or the Big Ten and pit it against the highest-ranked ACC team that's also not involved in the playoff.

If MSU doesn't make the Orange Bowl, Dantonio said he's sure the Spartans will be selected to play in one of the other 'New Year's Six' bowls -- the Cotton (Dallas), the Peach (Atlanta) or the Fiesta (Glendale, Ariz.), which are just as prestigious and on equal footing with the Orange.

The 'New Year's Six' bowls are the equivalent of what was most recently known as a BCS-level bowl.

Michigan State football fans would be wise to soak in the glory and take a look around. Only half of last year's BCS bowl teams are back in the mix as a possible 'New Year's Six' bowl team as things stand: Florida State, Ohio State, Alabama, Baylor and the Spartans.

Those BCS teams from last season currently not in position to make it back to the elite level include Clemson, Oklahoma, Central Florida, Auburn and Stanford.

There's a chance the Spartans could make it back yet again next season, but there's also a chance MSU will have a major rebuilding job on its hands depending on which underclassmen declare for the NFL draft.

For now, this Michigan State team has at least one more game together.

In that final game, they would be able to leave their place in history with another win, perhaps capping what has represented a dynasty by Michigan State football's pre-Dantonio standards.

With a bowl victory these Spartans can tie last year's group as the winningest senior class with 42 wins and go one step beyond, becoming the first senior class to win four consecutive bowl games.

What's already taken place is groundbreaking in Michigan State football history, and it's an elite accomplishment -- even if the Spartans don't find themselves in the national spotlight or even leading the college football news in their own state.