EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State's No. 1 problem entering the Big Ten season is getting used to being No. 2.

The Spartans trail only conference rival Ohio State in the Associated Press poll and are learning that even their supposedly weaker opponents will not give them a breather. They were up by seven points entering the fourth quarter against unheralded Central Michigan on Saturday before pulling away to a 30-10 victory at Spartan Stadium.

"You take a bad day and you make it a good day by winning," coach Mark Dantonio said.

The Chippewas outgained the Spartans 340-324 and could have made things even tighter if not for getting two first-quarter field goal tries blocked. It was the kind of sluggish performance that could lead to disaster now that Michigan State (4-0) has completed its non-conference schedule.

"That was my message to the team at halftime -- we need to pick it up," Spartans junior linebacker Riley Bullough said. "We're rated No. 2 in the nation. People have high expectations for us and we have high expectations for ourselves. We need to show it every Saturday. We can't have a slow half."

Spartans sophomore tailback Gerald Holmes scored two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns and Madre London, who gained 73 yards on 15 carries, added another in the first half. Michigan State senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun led the defensive effort with 2 1/2 sacks and also blocked a field goal attempt.

Senior quarterback Connor Cook had a quiet afternoon, completing 11-of-19 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.

The Chippewas converted 7 of 15 third-down attempts, several from long distance, which kept their drives going.

"As bad as we played on defense, they scored 10 points and that's the low for the season," Dantonio said. "With the two blocked kicks and the (fourth-quarter) turnover, those are positives. They weren't able to run the ball very effectively and that's a positive. The negatives are you've got to get off the field. You should feel confident you can get off the field on third and 10. That's when everything is tilted our way."

Junior quarterback Cooper Rush connected on 26-of-39 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown for Central Michigan (3-1). Junior receiver Anthony Rice caught eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown for the Chippewas.

"It's always great to measure yourself against the very best," Chippewas coach John Bonamego said. "Our kids were really juiced up and our staff was juiced up. When you're playing the best and you feel like your hanging in with the big boys, there's a lot of confidence that comes off of that. But we've got some work to do. We're making too many mistakes right now."

Special teams helped the Spartans build a 17-7 halftime lead.

Sophomore defensive end Demetrius Cooper and Calhoun blocked field-goal attempts by Central Michigan junior Brian Eavey during the first quarter.

In between, London scored on a 6-yard run to cap off the Spartans' opening drive.

"Very tough," Bonamego said. "You scratch and claw to get down there and then to come up empty handed is very discouraging."

Junior Michael Geiger's 47-yard field goal made it 10-0.

Cook tossed a 5-yard scoring pass to Josiah Price with 5:13 remaining in the half. Price's 14th career touchdown reception broke Chris Baker's school record for most scoring catches by a tight end.

The Chippewas broke through with eight seconds left in the half on Rush's 1-yard scoring pass to Rice, capping an 80-yard drive aided by two defensive penalties.

Eavey's 42-yard field goal provided the only points during the third quarter.

Holmes, a sophomore, scored from 3 yards with 8:37 remaining to give Michigan State some breathing room. He added a 6-yard scoring run with 3:21 left.

NOTES: Michigan State senior Connor Cook tied Kirk Cousins' school record with his 27th win as a starting quarterback. ... The Spartans are 40-6 against Mid-American Conference opponents and lead the all-time series against the Chippewas 7-3. ... The Spartans have won 30 of their last 33 games. ... The last time Central Michigan faced an opponent ranked as high as No. 2 was 2008, when it lost to No. 2 Georgia 56-17. The only time it defeated a ranked team was 1991, when it upset No. 18 Michigan State, 20-3. ... Chippewas junior QB Cooper Rush has started 27 consecutive games.