At his press conference Wednesday, Dantonio said he approaches each bye week differently, depending on the season, but as it is still early in the Big Ten season, he said the week will be a time to evaluate before moving on to No. 12 Michigan next week.

“We don’t need to be all jacked up this week,” Dantonio said. “We need to be enthusiastic and have our adrenaline running next week. And I think, if you start too soon, sometimes you can die out.

“So we’re sort of saving ourselves a little bit. We want to come out of this week very healthy.”

After MSU returns to Spartan Stadium Oct. 15 — hoping to be refreshed — against the Wolverines (5-0, 1-0), it continues through the Big Ten, hosting No. 4 Wisconsin and then traveling to No. 14 Nebraska.

Dantonio said he’s pleased to come into the bye week off a win, but regardless of when the week is placed during the season, there are positives to take from the break. He said the team can make the week whatever it wants, and for the Spartans, that means a relaxed week to “deflate.”

“It’s a good time to have a bye week,” Dantonio said. “As long as you take a positive approach on what you have — regardless of who you’re playing or what you’re dealing with — positive things can happen.”

Confidence in Cousins
Although senior quarterback Kirk Cousins’ recent performances have been questioned, Dantonio said he’s not concerned about the way Cousins has been playing because when quarterbacks make mistakes, they’re often “magnified” because of their influence.

“If you were on that field on Saturday and saw some of the throws from the sideline, he had great velocity on the ball,” Dantonio said. “He was putting it right on the money, so I’m not concerned at all in that area.”

Rather, Dantonio said with the pressure building as the season progresses, he’s more worried about players’ mindsets.

Dantonio credited the manner in which Cousins manages the team, and although Cousins puts pressure on himself while also having pressure from coaches, teammates and fans, Dantonio said he wants to make sure Cousins is relaxed and enjoying the game.

“I feel good about how he’s playing,” Dantonio said.

“Naturally, the quarterback, I think, sometimes gets a lot of praise — sometimes maybe that’s not all warranted … but I also think the reverse is true.

O-line improvements
Five games into the season, MSU’s offensive line has shed its noticeable inexperience, and Dantonio said it was evident during the Ohio State win.

He said the guards, redshirt freshman center Travis Jackson and sophomore left tackle Dan France, have been playing well. With consistency from senior left guard Joel Foreman and junior right guard Chris McDonald, players new to the line have been able to improve.

“We gave up no sacks on Saturday, and that’s a tremendous statistic when you’re playing at Ohio State and you’re playing Ohio State’s front seven,” Dantonio said.

“We gave our quarterback time to throw the football, and we were able to run the ball to a degree.”