A general observation here, and maybe it’s just from the people whom I heard in the wake of predicting last week – in step with our other five writers who cover the Big Ten – that Michigan State would beat Nebraska: Husker Nation was in denial.

Not in denial so much about the reality that the Spartans were a better-tested and more complete team. People didn’t want to listen to talk of that, either, but they were in denial about the state of college football and Nebraska’s place in it.

Despite the absence of a competent offensive line against the Spartans, the Huskers staged a thrilling comeback on Saturday. It seemed realistic at the start of the fourth quarter that Nebraska would lose by five touchdowns, but it fought to 27-22 and nearly won in fashion more unlikely than anything we saw nationally in a stunning Week 6.

This has relevance moving forward, because the more I see Nebraska in big games, the more I’m convinced many of its problems are about a mindset.

The Huskers looked timid offensively from the start, failing to convert into points three first-half turnovers gained in MSU territory. Later, they appeared shell-shocked, stunned that the Spartans could deliver such a punch.

It wasn’t about talent as much as belief.

“I feel like we didn’t really have much emotion in the first half,” receiver Jordan Westerkamp told reporters after the game.

That’s unexplainable, unless Nebraska no longer knows as a program how to respond to the big moment. To be fair, some of the struggles involved inexperience at key positions. Injuries played a big role, too.

But a lack of emotion speaks to a lack of assuredness – not to be confused with a lack of fight. Bo Pelini’s teams have plenty of fight.

But before the next big game, if it’s Wisconsin or Iowa next month, MSU or Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, or even resurgent Northwestern next week, the Huskers and their fans ought to try hard to get an accurate read on who they are and where they fit.

Too much of Nebraska’s fan base saw only that Michigan State struggled in the second half of a loss to an Oregon team that was now struggling itself. Too many people discounted the Spartans because of the five turnovers Nebraska committed in a game last year in Lincoln that stayed close into the fourth quarter.

Too many paid little attention to Connor Cook’s emergence as the Big Ten’s most dangerous quarterback.

Too much of Nebraska interpreted huge offensive numbers in four of five victories this year as a sign that Big Red was back, then looked at the Big Ten’s poor nonconference showing and thought, "Hey, that’s not us."

This disconnect between the team’s mindset and that of the fans impacts the football culture. It leads to improper expectations.

On the field in East Lansing, Michigan State played with an edge, displaying a domination for 45 minutes that simply was not indicative of the talent disparity.

At the center of the concerns, as the Huskers pick up the pieces, sits the offensive line. On Tuesday, Pelini offered little explanation for the group’s woes. The Huskers rushed for 47 yards on 1.3 per carry – both lows in 88 games under the coach – and allowed five sacks.

Pelini blamed poor technique and decision making.

“There were a couple of times they gave us an obvious look that we had practiced,” he said. “We were supposed to make a call; we didn’t make that call, so it makes everybody look bad. But the guy who’s responsible saw it and didn’t make the call.

“We did some things that, at times, were hard to explain when we watched the film.”

When promoted by a question on the Big Ten coaches teleconference, Pelini was left to complain about the distractive clapping of Michigan State defenders.

Whatever problems it created, they shouldn’t have lasted long, even if the actions warranted a penalty. A team with the right mindset won’t be knocked off course by clapping defensive linemen.

The late turn of momentum revealed a truth: Michigan State and Nebraska are more evenly matched than both teams played like they believed at the outset.

If they meet again, the Huskers might enter with an emotional edge because of a finish on Saturday – only, though, if that finish serves as a defining point for the next two months.

“Our team is going to fight,” Pelini said after the game. “That’s who these kids are.”

There’s no denying the Huskers’ fight. Other denials, Nebraska can do without.