At times, football is an unforgiving game.
It has been known to knock men down from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Head coach Mark Dantonio has become known during his time in East Lansing as the master of taking a team that has been knocked down and building them back up.
Saturday night, against a new foe, there will be another chance for Dantonio and No. 12 MSU (7-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) to come back from being beaten. Following a 49-37 loss to No. 8 Ohio State (8-1 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) MSU will travel to take on Big Ten newcomer Maryland (6-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten).
“I think that any time you lose a game there is going to be disappointment,” Dantonio said. “It’s going to get better or worse. That’s their choice; that’s our choice as individuals how we handle success, how we handle failure.”
Maryland ties
In many ways, facing Maryland will bring a new challenge for the Spartans because they are one of the Big Ten newcomers and have not faced MSU since 1950.
However, there are ties between MSU and Maryland despite the 588 miles that separate them.
Junior linebacker Darien Harris is from Silver Spring, Maryland, and one of only two players on the MSU roster from Maryland. Harris went to DeMatha Catholic High School, which is on the same cross street as the UMD campus.
Harris said he expects about 100 friends and family to be at the game, invading UMD’s “blackout” of the stadium with some green and white.
“We were able to get a block of tickets,” he said. “At one point, the ticket office told us we couldn’t have more because we were buying so many of them.”
The past few games have been taken personally by many MSU players because the teams they faced (Michigan and Ohio State) were the big schools in their home states and they, as players, were passed over.
Harris said the UMD game is personal to him for different reasons.
“It’s personal in the sense that I know some of the guys on the team,” he said. “It’s always fun to go against guys you grew up with and competed against in your high school days.”
Dantonio’s coaching staff also has UMD ties. Maryland head coach Randy Edsall faced Dantonio while he was at Cincinnati and Edsall was at Connecticut in the old Big East Conference.
“I’ve always had great respect for Mark,” Edsall said. “He stands for all the right things, and you know when you play them it’s going to be physical and they’re going to be well-coached.”
MSU offensive coordinator Dave Warner played with Edsall when the two were at Syracuse, and coached under Edsall while he was at Connecticut.
Moving on
After losses, Dantonio has an ability to rally his team and play well the following week. He will need to do that again following a loss that appears to have knocked MSU out of the running to play in the first ever College Football Playoff.
Dantonio said he is keeping his players motivated by reminding them that there is still a lot to play for.
“I’ve been assured by our players that our mindset is correct,” he said. “We have a lot to play for here. First of all, our season is not done yet, you just don’t know what can happen because there is so much parity in college football today.”
The biggest issue for the Spartans is a defense that has been part of the team’s identity giving up 49 points, 568 yards of total offense and letting the Buckeyes score touchdowns on six straight possessions.
“I think you are constantly re-evaluating what you do on a game-to-game, play-by-play basis,” Dantonio said. “There are a lot of different things coming at you at a very fast speed and you’ve got to react.”
UMD is welcoming MSU with a blackout night game at Byrd Stadium, a place this MSU team hasn’t played. The last time MSU traveled to College Park was 1944.
Senior lineman Travis Jackson said a cool part of playing in the Big Ten is going to other stadiums in unique places.
“Obviously we haven’t been to College Park yet, but we’re really excited,” he said. “One of the cool things about Big Ten football is you get to see cool stadiums and great fans, and with an 8 p.m. kickoff and a blackout, it’s going to be a cool atmosphere.”
Junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun had a more laid-back approach to the blackout at UMD.
“It’s just another game,” he said. “You can wear what you like, I guess.”
Calhoun said the season now becomes about sending the seniors out on a high note, as well as staying competitive in the Big Ten.
“You want to finish off strong,” he said. “We want to send the seniors out on a good note. That’s our positive mindset going forward.”
Defensive adjustments
OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett threw for 300 yards against MSU last week.
Dantonio and the Spartans know the effort they put out on the field against the Buckeyes won’t work against the Terrapins.
UMD is known for having two fast wide receivers, junior Stefon Diggs and senior Deon Long. Diggs, already suspended, is out for the game with a lacerated kidney, but Dantonio is still worried about the depth of the receiving core.
“It remains to be seen what they are without Stefon Diggs,” he said. “I do think (junior wide receiver Marcus) Leak is a very good player. (Deon) Long, number six, has become a go-to target for them.”
Another factor of the Terrapin attack is a player Dantonio is familiar with. C.J. Brown was a player that Dantonio recruited before he decided to go to UMD.
“He’s got the ability to run the football, he can create,” Dantonio said. “There are going to be certain things that they just rely on him to do from a running standpoint, obviously throwing, but I think it’s when he creates that he is most difficult to defend.”
It seemed to be a role reversal from 2013 when, until the end of the season, the defense would lift the offense in close games.
MSU scored 37 points and put up over 500 yards of total offense as well, but it wasn’t enough.
“We still have confidence in our defensive guys,” junior quarterback Connor Cook said.
Senior defensive end Marcus Rush said the players in the locker room will be able to lift the Spartans to come back from their loss to OSU.
“It’s the players (Dantonio) has recruited,” he said. “It’s about being mentally tough, and being mentally tough is just a part of this game.”
For Dantonio, the only message that matters for the rest of the season is the one he borrowed from late Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.
“Just win, baby,” he said.
