The Fix: 5 questions facing Michigan State in 2014

The Fix is a look at major storylines following this year's top college contenders, and how teams will handle these challenges heading into the season.

The Michigan State Spartans enjoyed a successful 2013 season, winning the Big Ten, and downing Stanford to win the Rose Bowl. Now the team looks to build on that momentum as they search for the program's first national championship since 1966.

Here are five questions facing Michigan State entering the 2014 season:

Did they peak in 2013?

Some may view the Spartans' Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl wins as the end of the road for Michigan State, but the team hopes that it was just the start of something special.

Head coach Mark Dantonio has worked hard to get the program back to an elite level, and while the 2013 season was a major feather in his cap, he'll surely be looking to continue the team's rise up the college football ranks.

Last year's team was very good, but many will point to their favorable schedule, and questionable play-calling by Ohio State in the Big Ten title game which helped the team along the way.

How good can Connor Cook be?

The Spartan offense will go as far as the team's backfield takes it, and it should be strong, with Jeremy Langford set to lead the way.

With that said, quarterback Connor Cook really got hot down the stretch last season and saw his numbers soar in the back half of the year.

The team's receiving corps had a dreadful 2012 campaign, and while the unit's play was better a year ago, there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Given the team's ability to run the ball and play stellar defense, Cook won't be called on to do much. His ability to excel when he was called upon last year was a big part of the team's success, and another step forward in that department could be what puts the team over the top.

What will the middle of the defense look like?

The departure of Max Bullough is at middle linebacker is huge. Senior Taiwan Jones is expected to move over from the strongside to the middle to shore things up.

The team also has some turnover at the defensive tackle position to deal with. Tyler Hoover and Micajah Reynolds won't be around to hold things down, so Damon Knox and Joel Heath will be asked to play bigger roles. True freshman Malik McDowell is also a dark horse for playing time.

What will realignment mean for the Spartans?

The big wigs at the Big Ten threw competitive balance out the window in favor of geography in realigning the conference. That didn't do any favors for the Spartans, who wound up in the tougher East division. They'll now have matchups with Michigan and Penn State to look forward to every year.

There's also the highly anticipated rematch with Ohio State. With the teams being in the same division, this year's meeting could be the true Big Ten championship contest. Michigan State handed the Buckeyes their first loss of the Urban Meyer-era in the Big Ten title game, and it's unlikely Meyer will let that go.

How will the team handle its non-conference schedule?

The Spartans' non-conference schedule has plenty of soft matchups on it, like home dates with Jacksonville State, Eastern Michigan, and Wyoming, but the team's second game of the year comes against Oregon.

Just to make things interesting, the game will be played in Eugene, where the Michigan State defense will look to slow the vaunted Oregon offense. The Spartans do somewhat resemble the Stanford Cardinal squad which has given the Ducks fits in recent years, in that they play great defense and can run the ball down an opponents throat, but that's a game that surely won't be easy.

The team's lone setback a year ago came in its toughest non-conference game, a 17-13 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend, and they'll need to avoid that same pitfall this season.

Previous editions of The Fix:

Alabama | Florida State | Ohio State | Auburn

LSU | Oregon | Texas A&M | Florida