Postgame interviews for MSU football’s 28-13 victory over Furman began with two seniors captains — quarterback Tyler O’Connor and linebacker Riley Bullough. Senior tight end Josiah Price followed them, with co-offensive coordinator Dave Warner next in line and head coach Mark Dantonio closing out the podium interviews.
“We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot.”
That phrase was uttered by every person at that podium. Penalties. Turnovers. Silly mistake here, minor slip-up there.
“It halted two drives in the first half,” Price said, as he committed a personal foul and holding infraction that killed momentum for those two first half drives. “It’s not my character, it’s out of suit for me to get two penalties. I can argue the calls all I want, but they still called them. Can’t do it. It hurts our team, hurts our offense.”
It certainly is out of character for Price, and several other flags were thrown against senior leadership for MSU. Cornerback Darian Hicks committed two pass interference calls, while seniors Brandon Clemons and Jamal Lyles picked up holding calls of their own.
But Dantonio and his staff were able to take a lot of positives away from a game that, from the MSU Twittersphere, put a lot of doubt in the minds of fans for the scope of MSU’s season.
That same type of doubt occurred in 2013 after MSU quarterbacks Andrew Maxwell, Connor Cook and Damion Terry combined for 3.1 yards per pass attempt in one of the worst passing performances ever under Dantonio. The Spartans won the Rose Bowl that season after clearing up who would be the man taking the snaps every down.
2015 brought the same negative connotations following a victory over Western Michigan University, this time with the special teams allowing multiple long kickoff and punt returns, one of which went for a touchdown. So Dantonio made it a priority to put together the best unit on special teams, and MSU wound up in the College Football Playoff with that same unit, turning in one of the most remarkable games in college football history, and the kicker — icing a victory over then-No. 3 ranked Ohio State University on the road.
Just like years past, Dantonio and his staff will have to connect the puzzle pieces to create the perfect picture of how the team can operate to its highest capability. Some questions were answered from Friday evening’s performance, as Warner called sophomore LJ Scott “our guy” at the running back position.
Senior receiver R.J. Shelton’s injury left the door open for younger guys like sophomore Felton Davis III and true freshman Donnie Corley to be on the field more and the receiver position appears to have found its top four.
Some question marks remain, as junior linebacker Jon Reschke, a projected starter, did not play because of what Dantonio called a “minor injury.” Linebackers Andrew Dowell and Chris Frey excelled in his absence, and the third linebacker will come down to those two players.
The defensive line struggled to create pressure, and despite the rotation going very deep in the game, it left fans with a sour taste in their mouth, wondering who else would step up to help preseason All-American Malik McDowell disrupt the opponent’s backfield.
The good news? MSU has two weeks to determine who goes where. They have film from the Furman game to look over, and will able to scout their next opponent, Notre Dame, in the two games they play before meeting in South Bend on September 17.
MSU will have to come prepared to take on the Irish, who after falling 0-1 in double overtime to the Texas Longhorns on Sunday night, will be fighting for their playoff lives. Needless to say, the Spartan discipline that has brought them to a peak of program success will play a major role.
If recent history has any tale to tell Spartan fans, it’s that mistakes will be made, and if anyone knows how to fix those mistakes in a timely fashion, it’s the coach who had five 11 win seasons in six years, something never accomplished by a Big Ten coach. So for fans donning the green and white: trust the system and trust Dantonio, because his record of failure at MSU is seemingly non-existent.
