As I sat on my couch to watch college football on Saturday (thank you bye week), I became pretty captivated by Michigan State’s comeback effort against Northwestern.

I had counted the Spartans out completely before they made their epic comeback, something I had been doing fairly frequently all season long. But then a thought struck me and has festered since then.

This Michigan State team is good. Actually scratch that. This Michigan State team is really good.

Sure, there’s some envy there. And being in Ann Arbor, I’m far from actually rooting for Michigan State. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a second look and realize that Little Brother is doing some big things.

If Michigan State beats Iowa next week, in what could probably be the most important football game for the Spartans in decades, this team is on the fast track to winning a Big Ten championship.

But even more than that, it's not inconceivable that Mark Dantonio’s crew could be in the hunt for the BCS National Championship.

I know, I cringed when I reread that sentence. But it’s absolutely possible. In arguably the second-strongest conference in college football, if the Spartans win out — which is definitely possible — they’ll be competing for the spot with teams like TCU, Boise State and Missouri, all three of which play in weaker conferences.

Yes, the Spartans don’t play Ohio State this year. But it doesn’t change the fact that name recognition in the Big Ten says quite a bit when all is said and done.

As far as other teams who could snag those spots, Auburn and Oregon seem to be the two frontrunners. And with just one matchup against a ranked opponent left for the Ducks (they play Arizona at home in three weeks), I’ll take the safe bet and say you’ll see them fighting for the ‘ship.

So that leaves Auburn with half of an SEC conference schedule remaining, one that includes Alabama on the road for the Iron Bowl and the SEC Championship. Obviously the Tigers’ path is significantly more difficult than Sparty and the Ducks. To clarify though, if they win out, there’s no reason they won’t remain atop the BCS.

But if you crunch the numbers, there’s a legitimate chance we could see Michigan State with its best chance at a national championship since Duffy Daugherty’s crew tied Notre Dame in the controversial final game of the 1966 season.

The real question for Michigan fans, however, shouldn’t be whether the Spartans merit a bid at becoming national champs; it should be whether that’s a good thing for us in Ann Arbor or not.

I found myself wondering this as the Spartans walked off the field victorious and with just one big question mark left on the schedule. Should I be feeling sick at the thought, like I am?

With so much parity in this year’s college football season, it’s my opinion that Michigan State is not the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the country. Oregon’s offense would probably dismantle Sparty’s ‘D’ and no one can stop Auburn’s Cameron Newton. You could probably make the argument that TCU or Boise State could take them down head-to-head, as well.

So all biases aside, I have to root against the Spartans for the sake of the system working correctly, right?

Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. Without a logical and good reason to root for Michigan’s rival, even if they are just a stone’s throw away, there’s no reason anything of the sort should be happening, right?

Well, maybe Purdue or Minnesota or Penn State will pull off a stunner and do what Michigan failed so miserably to do this season.

But until then, Sparty is on track for the national championship. And I don’t know about you, but it’s upsetting my stomach.