spartan stadium msu aerial

MSU students can bring a friend to the Spartans' regular season finale versus Minnesota, for free.

(MLive file photo)

EAST LANSING -- It's a noon kick on a holiday weekend with cold conditions forecast, not to mention the Spartans punched their ticket to Indianapolis last weekend, effectively deflating the drama from their regular-season finale.

But Michigan State doesn't want an embarrassing attendance Saturday when it hosts Minnesota, so its athletic department is getting creative.

MSU student ticket holders are being encouraged to bring a friend to the game. MSU athletics will admit one guest for free per each student with valid Spartan tickets. There is no requirement for guests--they do not have to be MSU students.

Michigan State is eager to fill the stands Saturday as it is hosting important visitors from the Orange Bowl, according to the Lansing State Journal. MSU athletic director Mark Hollis said what those officials see in the Spartan Stadium seats will have a bearing on whom they invite to their BCS bowl game.

That could be critical to the Spartans' chances of appearing in their first-ever BCS bowl.

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio hinted that fans should show up in large numbers Saturday to honor the 2013 senior class, which boasts the program's most wins with 39.

"I've always tried to recognize the people that have come and not worry about the people that don't. That's what I've always tried to do, but I do think it's important to recognize our seniors this game," Dantonio said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

"It's the last opportunity for a lot of people to see the Spartans play in the stadium this year. It's a season that has been special thus far, and it could become even more special."

MSU athletics also is offering discounted general admission tickets for the Minnesota game. By late Tuesday, MSU was selling tickets for $20 -- significantly cheaper than face value for Spartans home games -- in all but eight of Spartan Stadium's 46 seating sections.

If MSU bests Ohio State on Dec. 7 in the Big Ten championship game, the Spartans are likely Rose Bowl-bound for the first time since the 1987 season.

But if they fall to the Buckeyes, the Spartans could be passed over as the conference's second BCS representative. Such was the case when MSU lost to Wisconsin in 2011's inaugural Big Ten title game--arch rival Michigan went to the Sugar Bowl, a BCS game, while Michigan State settled for the Outback Bowl.

In order to qualify for a BCS berth, a team must place within the top 14 of the BCS standings. Conferences can send no more than two of their teams to the BCS.

In 2011, Michigan State and its fans felt the Spartans were punished for playing an extra game while the Wolverines watched the Big Ten's championship contest at home and benefited from not appearing in the title affair.

In an open appeal to fans, Dantonio channeled a colleague of his who has developed a reputation for communicating such messages with the Spartan fanbase over the years.

"I'll go online as Tom Izzo does sometimes and say, 'Hey, we need you there,'" Dantonio said at his press conference. "We need you there. If you're a Spartan, you need to be there. But I'm not going to be mad at anybody if they-- but we need you there. So if you can make it, come on."

Izzo himself appeared at the Tuesday press conference, offering his thoughts on attendance. Regarding the below-freezing wind chill forecast, Izzo said: "That's why God invented jackets."

Follow Brandon Howell on Google+ and on Twitter: @BSHowell88. Email him at brhowell@mlive.com or call him at 517-318-1615. Follow MLive Lansing on Facebook and Twitter.