It was a bad omen for what became a rough start for Dantonio’s introduction to Spartan football.

“I can’t quite remember the score,” Dantonio said. “I think we scored 10, they scored 50.”

As it turns out, Dantonio has a pretty good memory. The Cornhuskers routed the Spartans by exactly that score, 50-10, en route to a 12-0 undefeated season and the program’s fourth national championship.

It’s a program Dantonio recalls having played against numerous times over his 30-plus years as a coach, and one he said he has a tremendous amount of respect for.

And as the Spartans (5-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) prepare to face the No. 21 Cornhuskers (6-2, 3-1) this Saturday — the first time the Huskers have visited East Lansing since that 1995 blowout, and only the second time ever — Dantonio said he hopes he doesn’t see the same fan invasion in Spartan Stadium the Huskers are known for.

“Hopefully that doesn’t happen this week (and) we don’t sell our tickets to the highest bidder,” he said. “I know they’ll come in droves.”

In MSU’s six meetings with the Huskers, Nebraska has come away victorious each time, outscoring the Spartans 205-37 for an average score of 34-6. Last season, Nebraska nearly derailed MSU’s Big Ten title hopes by dominating the Spartans 24-3 in Lincoln, Neb.

Dantonio said that’s one game that sticks out in his mind when he thinks back to the 2011 season.

“That was probably the one game — especially in the Big Ten Conference — that we didn’t come and play as well as we had previously,” he said. “I think our players want to atone for that a little bit. They look back at that game and say, ‘We can do better.’”

When junior linebacker Max Bullough looks back at that game, he isn’t happy with what he saw — not just from his teammates, but himself as well.

“I say that about a lot of games for myself, but Nebraska particularly, there’s things I wish I would have done better,” he said.

Also in that game, then-junior running back Rex Burkhead scored three touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards.

It’s a performance junior linebacker Denicos Allen said he doesn’t want to see repeated.

“Considering the fact that last year he (scored) three touchdowns, I think we have a little more edge to it about the running game this year,” he said.

Still, Allen said the team has not dwelled on the loss, instead focusing on this year’s Nebraska team.

It’s a weighty task for the Spartans, who would clinch bowl eligibility with a win against the Huskers. But as Bullough pointed out, MSU has a lot more to gain from a win than just one more in the W column.

“As a team, we want to establish ourselves as the physical presence in the Big Ten, and a lot of teams are trying to do that, but I think we’re on our way,” he said.

“And beating up and being physical against teams like Nebraska is how you make that name.”