Here are five things to take away from Dantonio’s comments and preview of BYU

1. Defensive line in shambles

The Spartans are already without Malik McDowell for the first half against BYU after he was flagged and ejected late in the fourth quarter against Indiana for targeting. Dantonio announced sophomore defensive tackle Raequan Williams will be a player MSU misses “in the next week or two weeks.”

Williams has been one of the most consistent Spartan defensive lineman on a defense that has only generated six sacks in four games. Now, Dantonio needs to find replacements, but has a few names in mind.

“(Offensive lineman) Brandon Clemons will play on defense this week, I think that's a for sure,” Dantonio said. “He's a guy that's got defensive reps and he's played. Auston Robertson will move back into defensive tackle some. So we've got guys who have the same amount of numbers at least and we'll make it through the first half and then we'll make adjustments after that.”

2. Offensive Line gets a makeover

One of the key changes last week on the offensive line was starting seniors Benny McGowan and Clemons at guard, moving junior Brian Allen back to center, and shifting senior Kodi Kieler to right tackle in place of Miguel Machado.

For BYU, Dantonio is changing it up again, giving Machado his starting job back and shifting Kieler to the left tackle spot in place of the struggling David Beedle. In addition, with Clemons on defense, redshirt-freshman guard Tyler Higby will likely get more time on the field at left guard.

“You've got the left tackle situation David Beedle struggled a little bit, so we'll put a little bit more experienced player over there,” Dantonio said. “Doesn't mean David won't play. Kodi will still play around. I thought (Miguel) Machado played better, so he'll move back into that situation.”

3. 2012 comparisons everywhere

The echoes of the 7-6 2012 season, perhaps the most disappointing for Dantonio, are slowly creeping up in the rearview mirror with the Spartans sitting at 2-2 on the season. Dantonio said a lot of those negative comparisons fall on his shoulders and the shoulders of the coaching staff for not fixing the issues.

“If you saw the 2012 situation, it mirrored some things that are going on right now and the fact that you've got to get off the field on third down,” Dantonio said. “You've got to play well in the kicking game. You've got to make third-down conversions. And when you don't, those things happening for whatever, play calls, or whatever, execution, whatever it is, then you come up inches short. “

Only sixth-year seniors Ed Davis and Clemons were members of the 2012 team who didn’t redshirt. The Spartans will look to fix those issues, particularly third downs on both side of the ball, this coming week.

4. Will younger guys play more?

Dantonio inserted true freshman Justin Layne into the contest early on against Indiana, marking the seventh true freshman the Spartan head coach has used this season. When asked about whether or not more younger guys would see the field, or if the current younger guys who have played will see it more, Dantonio had a definitive response.

“First of all, we're not cashing out this year yet,” Dantonio said. “I think there's conviction on our football team. I know our football team and everybody's hurting a little bit and they'll be ready to play. I'm quite confident they'll be ready to play.”

That response also falls in line with the quarterback situation, as Spartan fans have been calling for redshirt-freshman Brian Lewerke to take over those duties. Dantonio repeated himself again, affirming that Tyler O’Connor is the starter,

5. Geiger’s woes

Special teams were an issue for MSU last season and have carried over again, as senior kicker Michael Geiger missed two more field goals against Indiana including a 49-yard attempt in overtime.

“Mike's been a good kicker, he's been a good competitor,” Dantonio said. “He's made big kicks for us, but he's got to be more consistent. I don't think there is any doubt about that. ... So we'll take a look at that as well, analyze that, I think he's a competitor, and he needs to bounce back when he has that opportunity.”

Dantonio also mentioned he has no plans at the moment to take the redshirt of freshman kicker Matt Coghlin.