It happened in different ways yet also in concert during Thursday evening's bowl showcase.

Michigan State traveled west and dominated No. 18 Washington State for a 42-17 San Diego Credit Union Holiday Bowl victory. In San Antonio at the Valero Alamo Bowl, TCU provided a thrilling example of Big 12 speed by storming back from an 18-point deficit for a 39-37 win over No. 13 Stanford.

Wins by these two programs shouldn’t come as a surprise. TCU and Michigan State, under Gary Patterson and Mark Dantonio, are considered two of the steadiest winners in the country. Except, too often, we don’t appreciate just how good of a job Patterson and Dantonio do at these non-traditional powers.

That praise is deserved after Thursday night. But so is the acknowledgement of something else: these two programs, under their current leadership, aren’t going anywhere.

Michigan State showed that emphatically this season. Coming off a tumultuous 3-9 2016 campaign, many dismissed the Spartans’ chances in 2017 and beyond. Instead, Michigan State finished the year at 10-3, its sixth 10-win season in eight years, the most successful run in program history.

It’s no longer a surprise for Michigan State to contend for the Big Ten title – it’s expected.

“It wasn't good enough to win nine games,” Dantonio said postgame, per the Associated Press. “We reaffirmed our stature a little bit in college football. This is a good football team and should continue to be a good football team.”

TCU, to a lesser extent, had similarly diminished external expectations entering 2017. The Horned Frogs, after back-to-back double-digit win seasons, went 6-7 a year ago. As a result, they were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12. Instead, the Horned Frogs went 11-3 and will likely finish the season ranked in the Top 10. The Alamo Bowl victory was TCU’s 40th win in four years, which is nine more wins than any other Power Five team in Texas during that span.

This isn’t new in Forth Worth. People should start expecting these results.

“Like I told them in the locker room, the whole senior group, the next group up, they can’t drop the ball,” Patterson said postgame. “This group worked too hard to get us where we are, and we’ve got some big games starting out next year. You’re saying, ‘Coach, you just got done winning a game.’ But I think that’s why we’ve been so successful, because we don’t stop.”

Don’t expect either TCU or Michigan State to stop next season.

Michigan State, a year after losing more experienced players than almost any team in the country, will return 10 offensive starters and nine defensive starters – pending early declarations in the NFL – from their Holiday Bowl-winning team.

That’s a squad that should contend in the Big Ten East. It also helps that the Spartans have a very manageable schedule – they avoid Wisconsin in the cross-divisional slate and will host both Michigan and Ohio State.

The Horned Frogs aren’t likely to drop off much, either.

They’ll be hit much harder by departures than Michigan State – 15 listed starters on TCU's bowl depth chart were seniors – but TCU has shown an ability to endure roster attrition in the past. They have their quarterbacks of the future – Shawn Robinson and Justin Rogers – an explosive group of skill talent and the foundation of what’s been one of the best defensive units in the country back for another year.

Plus, TCU is recruiting at a high level. Its 2018 class currently sits 20th nationally, which would be the Horned Frogs’ best class since it joined the Big 12, per the 247Sports Composite ranking.

TCU and Michigan State might not be the first two programs you think of when prognosticating in the Big 12 and Big Ten. But perhaps they should be. They've been in contention nearly every year, and they’re not going anywhere for at least as long as Gary Patterson and Mark Dantonio stick around.