At Dantonio’s press conference Tuesday, he said the Spartans (2-0) continue to challenge themselves, and he expects that to extend through the end of the season.

Emphasizing that the team shouldn’t be compared to last season’s, Dantonio explained what his idea of identity is and, in the search for it, what the Spartans should strive to accomplish.

“Identity is to have a great defense that is very tough to run on, to throw on (and) creates turnovers,” he said. “(It’s to) have an offense that has balance, a big-play perspective, doesn’t turn it over (and) special teams that can dominate — all the good things.

“Everything that’s good in football; that’s what I want our identity to be.”

MSU’s identity will form as the season progresses, and that starts with Saturday’s road game against Notre Dame (0-2).

The game is just one of five away games the Spartans will play in 2011, and players know the road schedule is challenging this season.

Dantonio said this weekend’s matchup is the “biggest challenge” yet for the team, and how MSU performs on the road will contribute greatly to the kind of identity it develops.

“This is our toughest opponent to date, so we’re going to find out a little bit more about ourselves as we go through the season,” Dantonio said.

Developing the run
Evident in MSU’s 44-0 victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday, the Spartans’ youthful offensive line has gained experience and opened the door for their running game to excel. Since Dantonio’s takeover in 2007, he’s built up MSU’s running backs, but they need a strong offensive line to perform.

Junior running back Edwin Baker said against Florida Atlantic, the line had success in opening different holes every play and executing the assignments well.

“When you run the ball well, nine times out of 10, you’re going to win the football game,” Baker said after the game. “You’re going to score high points, and you’re going to put the quarterback in a position to make good throws and make deep throws for touchdowns, so just having a good, strong running game, it just sets (us) up for success.”

Saturday, the Spartans rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and Dantonio said he’s anxious to see ultimately what course the running backs take.

“This is the way it is — you have to establish the run to win,” Dantonio said. “So we’ll see how that works out as we get deeper into our schedule. But I like our running backs. I think they have big-play potential.”

Fan-tonio
Purely as a fan, Dantonio said he watched Michigan’s last-minute defeat 35-31 over Notre Dame on Saturday.

He said he doesn’t buy into the idea that Notre Dame’s loss or its record will carry over into this weekend’s game and assumes, by the following Tuesday, the players aren’t dwelling on the past week’s events.

“We need to get ready for a football team that — in my mind — is a 2-0 football team,” he said. “They play like it. They made some mistakes, but that’s happened to us before too. So they’ll be ready to play.”