A general overview story, using some of Dantonio's new quotes from Tuesday:
'Come confident, and ready to play'
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - It's one of college football's great rivalries, but rarely has it meant so much to people outside the state.
Michigan and Michigan State have played in the past when both teams were undefeated, both in the Top 15. But rarely, if ever, have both teams come into this game with realistic talk of the National Championship being part of the narrative.
For Michigan State, there were National Championship hopes in August, and half of September. Since then, Michigan State has merely tried to eke out victories while enduring a series of injuries that have quelled all national title talk - for the moment.
Michigan, meanwhile, after battling back from a 24-10 deficit at Utah to lose by a touchdown, has put together three shutout performances against Northwestern, Maryland and Brigham Young. Michigan suddenly is listed as the fourth best bet to win the National Championship by Vegas sports books, trailing only Ohio State, Baylor and LSU.
Technically, Michigan State is still in the National Championship picture. Michigan is climbing into the discussion. The winner of Saturday's game will emerge as the biggest threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten East, and possibly take a step toward the Big Ten Championship Game and maybe the College Football Playoff.
It's one of the three biggest national games of the college football weekend. ESPN's GameDay will be on site. And it happens to be one of the most contentious in-state rivalries in college football.
Few mid-season rivalries in the sport can equal Michigan-Michigan State in terms of hatred and fervor. Now, a dash of national implications add spice. In comparison to other mid-season rivalry games, MSU-Michigan has upstaged USC vs Notre Dame for 2015, and is more important than last week's Oklahoma-Texas or Miami-Florida State games.
But, within the state of Michigan, the national importance is overshadowed by in-state animosity and tunnel vision.
"What we need to do," said Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, "is be focused on the present, understand what they do and do well, stop what they do and do well, play to our best abilities, play with great effort, come with an attitude - just like they will."
Michigan State (6-0 and ranked No. 4 by the coaches and No. 7 by the Associated Press) and Michigan (5-1, and ranked No. 12) have squared off in hateful, memorable battles in the past, leaving fans on each side to revel, complain and - most importantly - remember the outcomes for decades.
Can the average Bears fan remember the scores and circumstances of their games against the Packers in 1978? 1987? 1990? 1995?
Wolverines and Spartans fans can.
In those cases, Michigan State's victories over Michigan spoiled seasons of high expectations for the Wolverines. In three of the seasons mentioned above, MSU victories over the Wolverines fueled Michigan State to Big Ten championships.
Connor Cook and Michigan's Delano Hill had a brief exchange after Cook ran him over during a QB scramble early in last year's game. They'll be back on the field together, Saturday.
This year, Michigan has the chance to eclipse Michigan State's pre-season hype, which the Wolverines have already done, to an extent, in establishing a one-loss record while playing tidy, physical and correct football through six games. Michigan is one of the hottest teams in the country.
Michigan State's record is perfect, but the Spartans are far from the finished product Spartan fans enjoyed at the end of the 2013 and '14 seasons. MSU ended those campaigns with a pair of major bowl victories and Top 5 finishes - something Michigan has never accomplished.
Now, despite the undefeated record, and 32 wins in his last 35 games - including six of seven against the Wolverines - Dantonio was asked about being the underdog in this game. He was asked if he is surprised how quickly Michigan has come together.
In the past, when Dantonio has been asked at mid-season about the apparent progress and potential of his teams, he has cautioned observers to wait until the end of the season for a full analysis. "Let it play out," is one of his favorite lines.
He might have been tempted to use those words in relation to the University of Michigan's success at the midway point of this season, but that might have come off as disrespectful.
Instead, a straight-laced, diplomatic, coat-and-tied Dantonio was measured in his words of respect for Michigan during his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
"Am I surprised (by Michigan)?" Dantonio said, repeating the question, possibly surprised by the question itself. "I think every football team that goes out there, I don't care where they're at, they expect to win. So the expectations are high at Michigan State, the expectations are high down the road, and I think that's the way it is. That's probably the way it's always been, so I don't think there is any difference there."
Dantonio has embraced the underdog role in the past, the shoulder chip. But on Tuesday, he wasn't quite as willing to publicly accept that angle - maybe because someone tried to place it on him. Dantonio seems to like being an underdog on his terms, not someone else's.
When asked if he finds motivation in being an undefeated underdog, Dantonio said: "No, I don't.
"I think you're only underdogs if you think you're underdogs," Dantonio continued. "So it's what you think about things. It's not what, quite frankly, you write about things."
Dantonio would have preferred that his team was impressive enough through six games to enter this game as a 10-point favorite, and then he would probably find a way to play the underdog, disrespected card some how, some way, behind the closed doors of team meetings. But this time, this year, with the Spartans' offensive line and secondaries sputtering through injuries, he can probably understand why Michigan is favored.
The questions are whether Michigan can maintain its level of play against a talented but troubled rival, and can Michigan State finally achieve a level of mid-season form for 60 minutes while possibly starting its fifth different offensive line of the season, and its third different defensive backfield in three weeks?
"In regard to injuries and things of that nature, you always have a plan," Dantonio said. "That's why you work your twos, that's why you recruit other players. So, I've said it all along, when things happen like this or like that, it should make your football team stronger in the long run, and that's what we are always looking toward."
In the Rose Bowl season of 2013, Dantonio's second-stringers were largely redshirt sophomores who had been in the program for three years. They were seasoned and ready to help. Now - depending on the health of junior cornerback Darian Hicks, whose status for Saturday is unknown after he was knocked out the Rutgers game in the second quarter - MSU could conceivably have true freshmen as back-ups at all four positions in the secondary.
Hicks is listed as a starting cornerback on the official depth chart released by Michigan State on Tuesday, but so was center Jack Allen, who missed the end of the Rutgers game with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury. Dantonio entertained no questions about injuries on Tuesday.
RECRUITING UPDATE: Detroit's Corley Visits Tennessee
His '13 and '14 teams were remarkably injury-free. Now Dantonio seems to be paying a debt to college football gods for the good graces of those seasons.
"You're only halfway through," Dantonio said, "but I think what you know about Michigan State right now is that we will hang in there and we will hang tough and we will play through some pain, and that we will play through some adversity and that we've come out on the other end, and that's the positive. Are we perfect? No. Do we have some playmakers? Yes. That's what you know, halfway through.
"So you've just got to figure it out and play. Get ready to play. Come confident and get ready to play."
'Come confident, and ready to play'
Jim Comparoni
SpartanMag.com Publisher
EAST LANSING - It's one of college football's great rivalries, but rarely has it meant so much to people outside the state.
Michigan and Michigan State have played in the past when both teams were undefeated, both in the Top 15. But rarely, if ever, have both teams come into this game with realistic talk of the National Championship being part of the narrative.
For Michigan State, there were National Championship hopes in August, and half of September. Since then, Michigan State has merely tried to eke out victories while enduring a series of injuries that have quelled all national title talk - for the moment.
Michigan, meanwhile, after battling back from a 24-10 deficit at Utah to lose by a touchdown, has put together three shutout performances against Northwestern, Maryland and Brigham Young. Michigan suddenly is listed as the fourth best bet to win the National Championship by Vegas sports books, trailing only Ohio State, Baylor and LSU.
Technically, Michigan State is still in the National Championship picture. Michigan is climbing into the discussion. The winner of Saturday's game will emerge as the biggest threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten East, and possibly take a step toward the Big Ten Championship Game and maybe the College Football Playoff.
It's one of the three biggest national games of the college football weekend. ESPN's GameDay will be on site. And it happens to be one of the most contentious in-state rivalries in college football.
Few mid-season rivalries in the sport can equal Michigan-Michigan State in terms of hatred and fervor. Now, a dash of national implications add spice. In comparison to other mid-season rivalry games, MSU-Michigan has upstaged USC vs Notre Dame for 2015, and is more important than last week's Oklahoma-Texas or Miami-Florida State games.
But, within the state of Michigan, the national importance is overshadowed by in-state animosity and tunnel vision.
"What we need to do," said Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, "is be focused on the present, understand what they do and do well, stop what they do and do well, play to our best abilities, play with great effort, come with an attitude - just like they will."
Michigan State (6-0 and ranked No. 4 by the coaches and No. 7 by the Associated Press) and Michigan (5-1, and ranked No. 12) have squared off in hateful, memorable battles in the past, leaving fans on each side to revel, complain and - most importantly - remember the outcomes for decades.
Can the average Bears fan remember the scores and circumstances of their games against the Packers in 1978? 1987? 1990? 1995?
Wolverines and Spartans fans can.
In those cases, Michigan State's victories over Michigan spoiled seasons of high expectations for the Wolverines. In three of the seasons mentioned above, MSU victories over the Wolverines fueled Michigan State to Big Ten championships.
Connor Cook and Michigan's Delano Hill had a brief exchange after Cook ran him over during a QB scramble early in last year's game. They'll be back on the field together, Saturday.
This year, Michigan has the chance to eclipse Michigan State's pre-season hype, which the Wolverines have already done, to an extent, in establishing a one-loss record while playing tidy, physical and correct football through six games. Michigan is one of the hottest teams in the country.
Michigan State's record is perfect, but the Spartans are far from the finished product Spartan fans enjoyed at the end of the 2013 and '14 seasons. MSU ended those campaigns with a pair of major bowl victories and Top 5 finishes - something Michigan has never accomplished.
Now, despite the undefeated record, and 32 wins in his last 35 games - including six of seven against the Wolverines - Dantonio was asked about being the underdog in this game. He was asked if he is surprised how quickly Michigan has come together.
In the past, when Dantonio has been asked at mid-season about the apparent progress and potential of his teams, he has cautioned observers to wait until the end of the season for a full analysis. "Let it play out," is one of his favorite lines.
He might have been tempted to use those words in relation to the University of Michigan's success at the midway point of this season, but that might have come off as disrespectful.
Instead, a straight-laced, diplomatic, coat-and-tied Dantonio was measured in his words of respect for Michigan during his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
"Am I surprised (by Michigan)?" Dantonio said, repeating the question, possibly surprised by the question itself. "I think every football team that goes out there, I don't care where they're at, they expect to win. So the expectations are high at Michigan State, the expectations are high down the road, and I think that's the way it is. That's probably the way it's always been, so I don't think there is any difference there."
Dantonio has embraced the underdog role in the past, the shoulder chip. But on Tuesday, he wasn't quite as willing to publicly accept that angle - maybe because someone tried to place it on him. Dantonio seems to like being an underdog on his terms, not someone else's.
When asked if he finds motivation in being an undefeated underdog, Dantonio said: "No, I don't.
"I think you're only underdogs if you think you're underdogs," Dantonio continued. "So it's what you think about things. It's not what, quite frankly, you write about things."
Dantonio would have preferred that his team was impressive enough through six games to enter this game as a 10-point favorite, and then he would probably find a way to play the underdog, disrespected card some how, some way, behind the closed doors of team meetings. But this time, this year, with the Spartans' offensive line and secondaries sputtering through injuries, he can probably understand why Michigan is favored.
The questions are whether Michigan can maintain its level of play against a talented but troubled rival, and can Michigan State finally achieve a level of mid-season form for 60 minutes while possibly starting its fifth different offensive line of the season, and its third different defensive backfield in three weeks?
"In regard to injuries and things of that nature, you always have a plan," Dantonio said. "That's why you work your twos, that's why you recruit other players. So, I've said it all along, when things happen like this or like that, it should make your football team stronger in the long run, and that's what we are always looking toward."
In the Rose Bowl season of 2013, Dantonio's second-stringers were largely redshirt sophomores who had been in the program for three years. They were seasoned and ready to help. Now - depending on the health of junior cornerback Darian Hicks, whose status for Saturday is unknown after he was knocked out the Rutgers game in the second quarter - MSU could conceivably have true freshmen as back-ups at all four positions in the secondary.
Hicks is listed as a starting cornerback on the official depth chart released by Michigan State on Tuesday, but so was center Jack Allen, who missed the end of the Rutgers game with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury. Dantonio entertained no questions about injuries on Tuesday.
RECRUITING UPDATE: Detroit's Corley Visits Tennessee
His '13 and '14 teams were remarkably injury-free. Now Dantonio seems to be paying a debt to college football gods for the good graces of those seasons.
"You're only halfway through," Dantonio said, "but I think what you know about Michigan State right now is that we will hang in there and we will hang tough and we will play through some pain, and that we will play through some adversity and that we've come out on the other end, and that's the positive. Are we perfect? No. Do we have some playmakers? Yes. That's what you know, halfway through.
"So you've just got to figure it out and play. Get ready to play. Come confident and get ready to play."
