Or he can be defined by any one of his Dantonioisms, such as “Stay the course” and “They all count one.”

No matter how you describe or define the second-year MSU head coach, if there’s one thing I’ve come to rely on from Dantonio this season, it’s that he’s a straight-shooter who will answer almost anything (except questions about injuries).

He does it with the same intense glare that you see Saturdays, but he also can do it with a coy, sly smile that lets you catch a little glimpse of his personality.

Oddly, neither of those Dantonios were on display Saturday after the 49-18 throttling of Dantonio’s No. 17 Spartans by No. 7 Penn State in what amounted as the Big Ten Championship game.

Instead, it was a different Dantonio than I have ever seen.

He entered the media room and took a seat — speaking softer than I can ever remember throughout the season — and gave his opening statement, describing the game as “very disappointing” — which it was.

The Spartans came into Happy Valley looking for a share of the program’s first Big Ten Championship since 1990. Instead, they left as the Big Ten team that has the clearest picture of where they stand in the conference.

On Oct. 18, the Spartans were crushed by Ohio State 45-7.

On Saturday, they were beat up by Penn State 49-18.

MSU ends its regular season with an overall record of 9-3 and a Big Ten record of 6-2 — with the two standing just as much for a beatdown as it does a loss.

Because, in reality, that’s what both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions put the Spartans through, which is something even the suddenly soft-spoken Dantonio admitted to.

“We’re not there yet and that’s fair to say – we’re not there yet, that’s pretty clear,” Dantonio said.

“We have two co-champions in this conference, Ohio State and Penn State, and we were beat up by both of those teams — we were beat up physically by both of those teams.”

One thing Dantonio refused to do was admit Penn State had better players, even though that might be the common assumption by a good number of people watching Saturday’s game.

One thing he did admit was that it was tougher to answer questions after a loss than a win, even though it was the third time this year he had to do it.

After the season-opening loss to California, still with a long season ahead of him, Dantonio was optimistic.

After the loss to Ohio State, Dantonio and the rest of his coaching staff were more upset than anything, mad by the lack of plays made by the Spartans.

On Saturday, Dantonio was different in the way he spoke, but the basis of who he is as a person still showed through.

That’s because no matter what happens on the football field and no matter how beat down the Spartans — and their leader — were, they still have to get ready for their next battle. Even though it might seem like it, the season is not over, and there’s still a tomorrow.

Because even though there’s a difference between upset and stumped, there’s a lesson in however you lose — or win.

“You need to regroup, you need to learn from your mistakes, you need to learn from your experiences and that’s what life’s all about,” Dantonio said.

“If there’s a life lesson in this, it’s that you’re going to fail at certain things — as a person, as player, as a team, as a program — you’re going to fail at certain things.

The key to your success is ultimately how you handle yourself afterward.”

We’ll likely find out Jan. 1 how Dantonio and the Spartans respond.

Cash Kruth is a State News football reporter. He can be reached at kruthcas@msu.edu.