Only two weeks remain before college football season ramps up to full speed, which leaves us just enough time to have a little fun in making our last offseason projections with the best and worst case scenarios for each Big Ten team.

Please remember, these are not predictions. These are meant to offer a ceiling and floor for each team, and let the imagination loosen up a little bit along the way. Up next is Michigan State.

Best Case

Connor Cook stands behind a lectern in New York City in early December and declares that the trophy he really wants is still out there. The fellow Heisman winners behind him nod in approval.

In a perfect Michigan State world in 2015, Connor Cook hoists the Heisman and the Spartans topple an SEC team for the national championship. Mike Carter/USA TODAY Sports

Cook's Heisman season -- 38 touchdown passes and four interceptions -- starts with a bang as he throws five touchdowns passes to four different receivers in the season opener against Western Michigan before watching the fourth quarter of a dominant win from the sideline.

The following week is the defense's time to shine. The defensive line wreaks havoc in the Oregon backfield, flustering quarterback Vernon Adams in his first start at the FBS level. In a game plagued by turnovers, Michigan State avenges last year's loss with a 31-17 win in a jam-packed Spartan Stadium. Head coach Mark Dantonio points out after the game that Oregon's point total is its lowest since 2013.

Michigan State marches through its next eight games with barely a hiccup. Air Force's triple-option attack gives them a bit of a scare in the first half, but that doesn't last. In mid-October, Michigan's offense once again struggles to move the ball against their in-state rivals. A television broadcaster accidentally calls Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh by his brother John's name in a postgame interview, and Michigan finishes with a 5-7 record.

The trip to Nebraska is Michigan State's true coming out party. Tommy Armstrong is the next quarterback to fall victim to the country's top defensive line in a blowout win for the Spartans. Pat Narduzzi's new Pittsburgh team knocks off Notre Dame the same night and gives a shout out to his former Spartan Dawgs while celebrating.

One major hurdle remains in the regular season. Michigan State arrives in Columbus with the Big Ten East, a playoff spot and potentially the Heisman Trophy hanging in the balance. Cook and Ohio State's J.T. Barrett go blow-for-blow through most of the first three quarters. With time running out in the fourth, Cook leads an 80-yard drive before scrambling and finding tight end Josiah Price in the back of the end zone. Michigan State wins 45-42.

The Spartans coast through Penn State and the conference championship game without much of a challenge. As a two seed, they draw Clemson in the semifinal playoff game and brawl to a close victory. Auburn knocks off Baylor in the other semifinal but loses Jeremy Johnson to injury in the fourth quarter. The Tigers come undone without their star quarterback and the title game is a business-like win for Michigan State. The first question Dantonio receives after hoisting the championship trophy is if he thinks his team could beat an SEC champion if they actually had a healthy quarterback, giving the coach just enough ammo to keep a chip on his team's shoulder.

Worst Case

Michigan State's relative good luck with injuries during the past couple years doesn't return in 2015. A string of mishaps keep the Spartans from reaching full strength or picking up any momentum for most of the year.

The trouble starts in the second week of the season when Oregon visits with the relatively unknown Adams. The Eastern Washington transfer buys enough time with his feet to expose an inexperienced secondary. He throws three touchdown passes in the first half and forces the Spartans to ease back on their normally aggressive defensive scheme, but adjustments come too late to salvage a win against the Ducks.

The Spartans rebound with four straight wins to reach 5-1 and stay ranked at the halfway point of the season. Fans are nonplussed with home games against Central Michigan and Purdue and decide to stay in the parking lots and tailgate, leaving large chunks of concrete bleachers exposed in Spartan Stadium.

Disaster strikes on Oct. 17. Cook plays poorly against rival Michigan, who has put together a better defense than expected. The Wolverines hang on to win a slow game, 13-7, on the strength of two field goals and a pick-six from linebacker Joe Bolden. Headlines in Detroit the following day will read "Raise The Stakes." After the game, Dantonio is asked if he thinks the energy Jim Harbaugh provides to the Big Ten is good for college football.

At 5-2, the goal for a playoff berth slips away and Michigan State has to trudge through the second half of its schedule knowing that they'll finish with at best a consolation prize. Mike Riley gets his first major win at Nebraska when the Spartans visit Lincoln, and Ohio State is once again two scores better than the Spartans. Michigan State rallies to beat Penn State on Senior Day, but the victory is more bitter than sweet as one of the program's best senior classes ends its career in East Lansing with an 8-4 record.