Michigan State couldn’t get a measly yard Saturday afternoon in East Lansing with the game and the season at stake.

That failure revealed several uncomfortable truths about the state of Mark Dantonio’s football program.

That the offensive line is a mess. That there’s not much depth on the roster. That the offensive coaching staff is slow to adapt.

That last year’s 10-win season was a mirage. Spun together through good fortune, the right kind of bad weather, scheduling and a couple of sublime performances.

That change won’t be easy.

Dantonio could do what Oklahoma just did and replace its struggling coordinator. But this isn’t just about Dave Warner.

This is about talent, and MSU’s lack of it up front. It’s also about this coaching staff’s inability to adjust to the talent it has.

Saturday’s loss to the Wildcats showed that — again. And without a decent line, the Spartans’ offensive system has collapsed.

Now, should Warner and, by extension, Dantonio, take blame for trying to run plays as if Jack Conklin and Jack Allen and Donavan Clark were still in the huddle?

Absolutely.

And on Saturday, to their credit, they did.

But this shouldn’t let them off the hook. Remember, MSU’s coaches were shuffling offensive lineman on opening night against Utah State because the unit was struggling to block and protect.

In other words, they’ve known what they’ve had for a while. And have known what they don’t.

Their failure to adapt is malpractice. Though it’s not hard to understand why they haven’t. Because one of the hardest things to do in sports is change after you’ve had success.

And, right now, the program is paying for its success, operating as if it had NFL-ready lineman leading the way.

Call it stubbornness. Call it pride. Call it loyalty. Call it whatever you want.

“I'm not going to sit here and say that this isn't coaching and this is all execution or whatever the case is,” Dantonio said Saturday after the loss to Northwestern. “It felt like it was just spinning out of control, and some of the things we have control over and we can change.”

They must change. Radically. And fast.

Penn State is next. Michigan after that.

Both opponents should shield against another flat performance — Dantonio admitted his team seemed disconnected from the moment in the halftime locker room Saturday.

Yet emotional resolve only lasts so long. A change in strategy, at least through the rest of this season, is the Spartans’ only chance.

No more slow-developing runs when the defense knows they’re coming. No more seven step drops when the pocket keeps collapsing. No more forgetting about Felton Davis III, the team’s best offensive talent.

No more seeking balance. A worthy concept, but a foolhardy one with this year’s roster and injuries.

Dantonio said he was depressed Saturday after the loss. He should’ve been. Northwestern was a more than winnable game.

Just not with 2013’s plan.

Look, Dantonio digs continuity, with his coaching staff and in his philosophy. I don’t blame him.

Which is why most of these coaches, including Warner, have been with him for a decade or more. They were there — in some capacity — when he won the Outback Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, and got to the College Football Playoff.

Together, they’ve had one average season (2012) and one bad season (2016). The program rebounded a year ago. When it did, the staff figured, with 19 returning starters, they’d keep re-ascending to the places that shaped their reputations.

You could hear it in Dantonio’s voice this spring and summer, when he talked about how much he liked his team.

But through injury or lack of development this isn’t the team he envisioned coaching.

True, injuries to his best running back, L.J. Scott; his best possession receiver, Cody White; and his most promising lineman, Kevin Jarvis, have hurt. If MSU has those three, maybe they get the yard against Northwestern.

But they didn’t have them. Nor did they have a healthy left tackle, Cole Chewins; a healthy right tackle, Luke Campbell, or their starting left guard, David Beedle.

So when Dantonio and Warner dialed up a power run behind a depleted line without their best running back late in the fourth quarter?

It had no chance to work.

That Dantonio and Warner called it anyway says everything. And says a lot must change in a hurry.

Because sooner or later, change is gonna come regardless.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.

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