DotComp: Good guys, good teams, bad circus
Jim Comparoni • SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - Mark Dantonio once said he has a black mark on his soul for the University of Michigan.
Dantonio is older and maybe a little more calm these days, and should be secure in his standing as a legendary head coach at Michigan State University, but that black mark probably hasn’t faded.
The black mark has been passed down to the current Spartans who will renew hostilities with Michigan at noon on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
Dantonio said nice things earlier this week about Michigan and the level of sportsmanship the Wolverines have played with in his team’s three meetings since Jim Harbaugh became head coach. But the fighting side of Dantonio is perked up a few notches this week, as is the case every year. A good clean fight, that’s what Dantonio’s players usually wage. And that’s what his players usually succeed in delivering.
“I think it's just who he is as a person, his demeanor,” senior safety Khari Willis said, when asked if there is anything about Dantonio’s personality that has enabled him to win eight of the last 10 meetings in this series. “He tells us what we need to do and how we need to prepare ourselves. I feel like we're up; we're geared up for this game.”
Michigan State enters with a 4-2 record, ranked No. 24 in the nation, back in the rankings after upsetting No. 8 Penn State.
Michigan is 6-1, ranked No. 6 after beating Wisconsin last weekend.
A six game win streak against Western Michigan, SMU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland and Wisconsin has Michigan observers talking about a path to the National Championship.
This from a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2004. Since that time, Ohio State has won it seven times; Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin have each won it three times.
The freshmen who will play on Saturday were barely out of diapers the last time Michigan won the Big Ten. That’s the Big Ten championship, not the National Championship. Michigan hasn’t won an outright National Championship in 70 years. That’s one fewer than BYU. There’s no shame in that, unless your program claims to be the best in the sport’s history.
Michigan hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road in more than 11 years. That’s 0-17 since 2006. That’s failure of Detroit Lions proportions.
But Michigan beats Wisconsin and, hey, prepare for that trip to the White House. They enjoy trips, you know.
No other fanbase or media corps should be more cautiously pessimistic than Michigan’s. Yet they return every year, boasting expectedly, like Linus to the pumpkin patch.
Michigan battled back from a 17-0 deficit to beat Northwestern, a team which beat Michigan State. No one is mapping out paths for Michigan State to do anything, except possibly win another one of these games on Saturday - and that’s probably why Dantonio usually wins this game.
(Continued below)
Jim Comparoni • SpartanMag.com
EAST LANSING - Mark Dantonio once said he has a black mark on his soul for the University of Michigan.
Dantonio is older and maybe a little more calm these days, and should be secure in his standing as a legendary head coach at Michigan State University, but that black mark probably hasn’t faded.
The black mark has been passed down to the current Spartans who will renew hostilities with Michigan at noon on Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
Dantonio said nice things earlier this week about Michigan and the level of sportsmanship the Wolverines have played with in his team’s three meetings since Jim Harbaugh became head coach. But the fighting side of Dantonio is perked up a few notches this week, as is the case every year. A good clean fight, that’s what Dantonio’s players usually wage. And that’s what his players usually succeed in delivering.
“I think it's just who he is as a person, his demeanor,” senior safety Khari Willis said, when asked if there is anything about Dantonio’s personality that has enabled him to win eight of the last 10 meetings in this series. “He tells us what we need to do and how we need to prepare ourselves. I feel like we're up; we're geared up for this game.”
Michigan State enters with a 4-2 record, ranked No. 24 in the nation, back in the rankings after upsetting No. 8 Penn State.
Michigan is 6-1, ranked No. 6 after beating Wisconsin last weekend.
A six game win streak against Western Michigan, SMU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland and Wisconsin has Michigan observers talking about a path to the National Championship.
This from a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2004. Since that time, Ohio State has won it seven times; Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin have each won it three times.
The freshmen who will play on Saturday were barely out of diapers the last time Michigan won the Big Ten. That’s the Big Ten championship, not the National Championship. Michigan hasn’t won an outright National Championship in 70 years. That’s one fewer than BYU. There’s no shame in that, unless your program claims to be the best in the sport’s history.
Michigan hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road in more than 11 years. That’s 0-17 since 2006. That’s failure of Detroit Lions proportions.
But Michigan beats Wisconsin and, hey, prepare for that trip to the White House. They enjoy trips, you know.
No other fanbase or media corps should be more cautiously pessimistic than Michigan’s. Yet they return every year, boasting expectedly, like Linus to the pumpkin patch.
Michigan battled back from a 17-0 deficit to beat Northwestern, a team which beat Michigan State. No one is mapping out paths for Michigan State to do anything, except possibly win another one of these games on Saturday - and that’s probably why Dantonio usually wins this game.
(Continued below)
