MSU coach Mark Dantonio and the football team line up before the game against Michigan on Oct. 17, 2015 at Michigan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Wolverines, 27-23.
MSU junior tackle Jack Conklin said Tuesday the No. 13 MSU football team (8-1) is already over its 39-38 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday and is looking ahead to the remainder of the season.
“We’ve grown as a team," Conklin said. "You’re not going to see us dwell on that and it’s not going to affect us in the next few games, if anything it is going to propel us to play even better."
Conklin said “outside pressure” is definitely felt, but after a Sunday that senior quarterback Connor Cook called “a little rough,” and a Monday where he said “the attitude was a lot better,” the two offensive leaders said the team is excited to get going against Maryland.
“If we go beat Maryland, beat Ohio State, beat Penn State, then we are still going to be in the position that we want to be in, which is winning a championship,” Conklin said.
And aside from what junior linebacker Riley Bullough called “some new wrinkles” in the team’s late-game strategy, their focus has been dialed directly back into the the task at hand. A task head coach Mark Dantonio said the team’s past success has set the precedent for.
“As I told our players on Sunday, in my closet, my wife washed my clothes for me — so I was putting clothes on a hanger and hanging them up, OK? It just so happened I picked up a Rose Bowl shirt, put it on a hanger,” Dantonio said. “We were 13-1 that year. There was a Cotton Bowl shirt. We were 11-2. Ended up No. 5 in the nation, ended up No. 3 in the nation.”
MSU will face a Maryland program on Saturday, which has gone through a coaching change and a tough schedule much like Nebraska.
“They've got weapons, William Likely, No. 4, great punt returner, kick returner, a guy they put over on offense from the corner position,” Dantonio said.
Maryland will visit Spartan Stadium ranked seventh in the Big Ten East and with an overall record of 2-7, but Dantonio is not taking them lightly.
“They have a quarterback that runs the ball very effectively," Dantonio said. "Talented young wideouts. A great defensive end. A defense that's been difficult to play against."
Dantonio said the Spartans’ seniors will need to continue their exemplary play to defeat Maryland, Ohio State and Penn State.
“When I sit around and talk to our football team, our coaches, I say, 'If we're going to have a great year, which by the way, we are having a great year, okay, you got to have your best year as a senior,'” Dantonio said.
But all in all, Dantonio wants his players to learn from the loss and apply it to all aspects of their lives.
“Life's not always going to go like this," Dantonio said. "You're going to have some down times.
“As I told them on Sunday, if they thought that was a bad situation and tough deal, they should have been here in 2011 at the Big Ten championship game.”
The Maryland game will kick off at noon on Saturday and will be aired on ESPN2.
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