This time around for the rivalry matchup, head coach Mark Dantonio said the No. 23 Spartans (4-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) are looking to do the same thing against a more mature Robinson and new head coach Brady Hoke.

“The experiences you have are going to carry you forward, so I think that if anything, (Robinson’s) probably better because of time spent (on the field),” Dantonio said at his press conference Tuesday. “They’re incorporating a lot of the same things — probably in their own way — but they’re still giving him options to run, (and) they’re still giving him options to pass.

“You see some of his same schematics playwise; you see different ones, as well, but they’re still giving him the ball equally as much.”

In preparation during his redshirt season last year, now-freshman wide receiver and cornerback Tony Lippett — who played quarterback in high school — received credit for successfully mimicking Robinson while on the scout team.

This year, MSU will utilize “quick-footed” junior cornerback Mitchell White and freshman wide receiver and defensive back Spencer Elliott in addition to Lippett to imitate Robinson’s movements. Dantonio said both White and Elliott have previous experience playing quarterback, and he plans to use a variety of players in the role this week.

“We sort of take our practice and divide it up in terms of when we’re going against scouts and when … (we) take our best players and put them in there and implement them into different situations that (Robinson) would do,” Dantonio said.

“Obviously we can’t do that for the entire practice — we have to be careful not to get people injured — but we need to see game speed as much as we can.”

Healed up
During the bye week, MSUplayers had the opportunity to rest and recover from minor injuries before taking on No. 11 Michigan (6-0, 2-0) Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Not having played this season, sophomore wide receiver Bennie Fowler will probably play Saturday, Dantonio said. Fowler suffered a foot injury, and his return to the field has continued to be pushed back.

Junior center Blake Treadwell and junior defensive end Tyler Hoover are still on the injured list, and Dantonio said they might be potential candidates for redshirts this season.

The rest of the Spartans who might have been a little dinged up when heading into the bye week also have regained their strength for the upcoming game.

“We’ve got some people back and healed up that I think are in a little bit better shape physically right now in terms of playing with injuries,” Dantonio said. “It wasn’t that they were out necessarily, but they would play injured, and I don’t think that’s the case right now.”