It’s funny what a little negativity will do.

As Michigan State entered the locker room at Spartan Stadium for halftime, showers of boos and beratement from the MSU faithful filled the East Lansing afternoon air. The Spartans trailed 14-7 to Wisconsin — a squad without a permanent coach leading the charge.

The first half was sloppy. It was downright embarrassing at times. Every play had fans holding their breath and hoping for better play. Sometimes it happened. Other times it didn’t.

But sometimes negativity is the perfect propellant for a team to rally. That’s what the Spartans did. And while it took an extra 2 periods to settle the final score, MSU can finally sigh in relief.

It won. It finally won.

Michigan State fans can talk about how the defense dropped a pair of easy interceptions that could’ve ended the game. They can talk about Mel Tucker’s bonehead call to rush his field goal unit onto the field in the closing seconds with no timeouts, instead of trying to set up the game-winner by spiking the ball on 3rd-and-2.

So much negative play unfolded in East Lansing. No one is talking about it. The Spartans’ 34-28 double-overtime win over the Badgers ends a 4-game losing streak and dials back the temperature on Tucker’s hot seat for a week.

He’s not going anywhere, obviously, since $95 million doesn’t grow in boosters’ pockets, but he was feeling some heat.

A loss Saturday would have all but ended MSU’s season. Hopes of winning a B1G title went out the door following a loss to Maryland in Week 5. But realistic goals such as playing in a bowl remain alive.

Should Michigan State have fallen on the L-sword for the 5th consecutive week, those dreams would have ceased. Instead, the Spartans have hope as they prepare for Michigan in 2 weeks. After that, the stretch run includes meetings with Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana and Penn State.

Tucker has MSU skating by on the skin of its teeth. The Spartans are undisciplined. They lack depth at certain positions. Both sides of the ball need a tune-up when it comes to calling plays in the huddle and getting set up before the snap.

But the Spartans are back in the win column. A bowl game is still plausible. And Tucker can turn the season around with a week off and a fresh mindset.

“We’re just making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Tucker laughed in his postgame presser.

There are 2 ways for everyone to look at Saturday’s win over the Badgers. It might be only a brief respite in a run of disappointment. Or it can be a clean slate.

Try thinking of the sub-.500 Spartans as 1-0 moving forward instead of 3-4. When thinking the former, the future is bright.

Why look at the season with a fresh set of eyes?

For starters, MSU is getting healthy. Defensive tackle Jacob Slade and safety Xavier Henderson both returned for the first time since the win over Akron, and the results showed. Wisconsin was limited to 131 yards passing while its rushing attack averaged 3.9 yards per carry. Take out Braelon Allen’s 123 rushing yards, the Badgers totaled just 29 yards on the ground.

Payton Thorne looked like his 2021 self for most of the second half. He threw a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner to Jayden Reed in the second overtime. For just the 2nd time this season, there wasn’t a turnover attached to his name.

And the Spartans didn’t quit. Did you notice how by the start of the 4th quarter against Ohio State, it felt like players were going through the motions? A week later, they were fighting in overtime to salvage a season.

Jacoby Windmon’s strip on Allen was something that hadn’t been seen all season by the program. It ended up being the difference-maker between a 5-game losing streak and the start of a new campaign.

Where from here for Michigan State?

Crazier things have happened, but the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy likely will go to Michigan it plays even 75% as well as it has all season. Penn State, even after its brutal loss in The Big House, poses a big challenge with a deep and talented roster. For now, it’s best to assume that those will be losses barring a revamped look to the Spartans following the bye week.

Every other game? MSU stands a chance.

Illinois’ offense is predicated around running back Chase Brown. Indiana has heart, but does it have the offensive firepower to complete comebacks? Rutgers is, well, Rutgers. Do with that information what you will.

A 3-2 record from here on out puts the Spartans at .500. And while no one expected a team with a coach making $9.5 million per season to go 6-6, it’s better than what the trajectory looked like entering Saturday.

The win over Wisconsin kept bowl hopes alive.

For this season, perhaps that’s enough.