Austin Hemmingson

ESCANABA — It was an emotional weekend to be a Michigan State sports fan.

For starters, the football team blew a 28-3 lead to inexplicably lose to Illinois on the eve of Michigan week — but more on that later.

That was followed by a much more somber moment when news broke that star point guard Cassius Winston’s brother, Zachary Winston, was struck by a train Saturday night. According to authorities, it was intentional.

Zachary Winston was playing for Albion College, which played the Spartans a few weeks ago in an exhibition contest. He was also a teammate of Escanaba’s Jared Nash, who’s playing his freshman season at Albion.

Last but not least, former star MSU receiver Charles Rogers — who was a No. 2 NFL draft pick by the Detroit Lions in 2003 — passed Monday morning at the age of 38. Rogers helped Saginaw top Escanaba 33-30 in a playoff game in Gaylord in 1998, and he was interviewed by longtime Daily Press Sports Editor Dennis Grall after the game.

These incidents involving Winston and Rogers really put things into perspective — there are far more important things in life than sports.

Cassius Winston playing in Michigan State’s 100-47 win over Binghamton Sunday less than 24 hours after he realized what happened to his brother was uplifting and inspiring. Sports can pull us together.

I hesitated to write this column, mainly because I didn’t want to subject the general public to my MSU football frustrations, but when all these other incidents around the school took place, I decided to make a column out of it.

We’re witnessing the end of an era for the Michigan State football program.

What Mark Dantonio did for that program really can’t be put into words. He took a bottom tier Big Ten program and turned it into a national power, highlighted by a three-year run from 2013-15 that consisted of a 36-5 record, two conference titles, a Rose Bowl win, a Cotton Bowl win and two wins over Ohio State.

All that being said, it appears to be over.

Since 2016, MSU’s record is just 24-23 and things are not trending in an upward direction. The Spartans thought they were Big Ten contenders this season, and rightfully so, after returning most of a top 10 defense from last season. The offense just needed to not be atrocious and they could compete.

Instead, the defense has fallen off to barely being average and the offense isn’t much better than it was a year ago when it was ranked near the bottom of the FBS in every major statistical category.

After being outscored 100-17 in three games against top 10 opponents Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State, the Spartans finally looked competent again after building a 28-3 lead against Illinois Saturday.

Without going into detail, that didn’t last. The Spartans blew it and eventually lost 37-34 to the Illini.

To make things short and sweet, it felt like Halloween came late this year and the Lions were out there dressed as Spartans. I felt like I was watching a Lions’ game. For those of you who don’t know my opinion of the Lions, see my Sept. 12 column.

Saturday’s game was a clown show. This is one of those losses that’s going to sting when someone asks me about it in 50 years.

It’s sad, but the reality is the Dantonio era is coming to an end right before our very eyes. His inability to make changes on the coaching staff, adapt offensively and recruit the way he used to has all led to the demise of the program.

Dantonio will forever be remembered as MSU’s greatest football coach — he passed Duffy Daugherty for the program’s all-time wins record with 110 earlier this season in a 31-10 win at Northwestern. His current record at MSU is 111-56. As a fan, he brought me joy and memories that I can’t thank him enough for.

But his time is up. Whether he retires or the school politely tells him it’s time for us to go in a new direction, this season is his likely his final chapter in a storybook career.

This Saturday, MSU visits Michigan in a game I’d usually be excited for. My brother graciously bought me a ticket in the second row behind the MSU bench, so I’m sure I’ll get excited enough to enjoy myself — at least for a little while.

But for just the second time under Dantonio — with 2016 being the other — I don’t expect MSU to win. I’ll be somewhat surprised if it’s close.

The man who really made a name for himself by flipping the script against his in-state rival, will now look to save what’s left of this season by possibly beating it one last time.

But regardless of the outcome, we’re watching the end of an era. An era I’ll be forever grateful for.