It was one of the cockiest plays in Michigan State football history.

And it was the longest from scrimmage on program record.

Spartans RB Kenneth Walker III juked, broke tackles and galloped for a 94-yard touchdown during Saturday’s 31-13 win at Rutgers, even taking time for a cordial greeting with a teammate.

Undefeated Michigan State needed that jolt of confidence in order to break away from the Scarlet Knights, who hung around long enough to make the game interesting.

Big plays were the theme of the day.

But the handshake said something: Michigan State is beyond self-assured and has the powerful pieces to continue its winning ways under second-year coach Mel Tucker.

Running down the field, straight ahead toward the end zone, Walker met up with WR Jalen “Speedy” Nailor to exchange pleasantries near the 15-yard line. Walker dodged at least 4 defenders on his way to the back-breaker that sealed the game for the Spartans, who are 6-0 for the first time since 2015.

Under former coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans routinely exuded confidence and bravado. But there was never anything like the Walker-Nailor pre-TD greeting.

Was it just a moment of hot-dogging? Was it a way to deflate Rutgers?

Or was it a message to the rest of the Big Ten?

Depending on who’s answering, it could be a combination of the three, or just one of the above. However, for a team that’s looking to establish a new identity in the post-Dantonio era, that handshake could have been a sign of the times. Tucker’s Spartans are feeling themselves and want everyone to know that they’re the real deal.

“The line did a great job on the first level — it was wide open, so I just took it to the left side,” Walker said during the postgame press conference, noting (when asked) that he had a 96-yard TD run at Wake Forest. “I saw that I could bounce around. I believe it was [Jayden] Reed on the left side. I can’t remember. Whoever was on the left side did a great job sustaining the block.”

Prior to Saturday’s game vs. Rutgers, Tucker said that his team had yet to play a complete, 4-quarter game this season. Despite a nice road win at then-No. 24 Miami (FL) and 3 straight conference victories, the best of Spartans football remains to be seen.

Saturday wasn’t MSU’s best effort, but it certainly provided another glimpse into a team that believes it can do what many thought impossible. Remember, most pundits picked the Spartans to finish near the bottom of the Big Ten East.

What do pundits know anyway?!

There might not be a more misjudged team than Michigan State, which continues to impress onlookers and prompt questions of “what’s next for this team?”

The little moments, like a boisterous handshake, shape mentalities and provide mental boosts that can’t be measured on stat sheets.

And many times, those chunk-yardage plays tilt the balance.

“I look at this game, and we gave up big plays,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said during his postgame press conference. “We gave up four big plays. We haven’t done that. We haven’t given up big plays. You give up big plays, it’s going to be hard to do anything — you’re behind the 8-ball …”

Schiano’s quote wasn’t a direct reference to the Walker-Nailor handshake, but it’s safe to assume that the handshake had an impact — along with 3 plus-60-yard TD receptions by Nailor. Remember last week when Michigan did the “Jump Around” at Wisconsin? It’s the same thing, in a sense. Get under the skin of the opponent by any means necessary, and Michigan State did that Saturday in New Jersey.

The Spartans have 2 of their next 3 on the road, starting at Indiana next week. They host in-state rival Michigan on Oct. 30 before heading to Purdue. The upcoming trio of games will dictate the rest of the season.

However, a boost of confidence via handshake might have been what the Spartans needed. Maybe they needed a scare on the road in order to wake up and get right? They already had a close call at home vs. Nebraska a couple weeks ago, sending a charge into the locker room. Jayden Reed’s pair of punt return touchdowns were the difference vs. the Huskers, and the Spartans learned from that experience.

It was a gut-check type of game, with maybe just a bit of luck involved. Either way, Michigan State was able to use Reed’s punt returns to its advantage and forge ahead to the next weekend.

The Walker-Nailor handshake could very well do the same thing for the Spartans next Saturday vs. the Hoosiers. If it does, then carrying that momentum into the Michigan game shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a cycle of sorts. One big moment can lead to other meaningful achievements, serving as a domino effect for a program that aims to make a lot of “experts” eat their words this season.