First I would like to say that I was absolutely in favor of Fleck's hire. I believe he was the mentality, football knowledge, and enthusiasm to make the Golden Gophers into a very competitive and consistent bowl team.
I will be honest in stating that I do not know much about the status of your team. I read on another thread that you have been dealing with a rash of injuries. That makes it difficult for any coach to build consistency when the lineup is constantly changing.
Don't let MSU's win over Michigan alarm you. The Spartans are extremely young (12 true freshmen are already seeing action) and because of their youth remain inconsistent in their performance. They haven't yet learned or been acquainted with the rigors of playing football at this level for such a long duration.
I really don't know what team will show up this weekend. The defense played a strong game against Iowa and Michigan, can they do it again for a third consecutive week?
Offensively MSU is strugglingly to run the ball. The OL is made up of one senior, one sophomore, two RSF, and one true freshmen. All but the senior are going through a steep leaning curve, and as a result the run game is nonexistent. The young guys as a whole are missing too many assignments.
I don't expect it to be a high scoring affair unless Minnesota gets hot offensively, and the MSU defense is hung over form their Michigan performance.