At his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio made it clear any criticisms directed at offensive coordinator Dan Roushar might as well be directed at him as well.
After losing to No. 20 Michigan (5-2 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) 12-10 on Saturday, the MSU football team (4-4, 1-3) has gone from a team fighting for a Big Ten championship to one hoping for an invitation to a bowl game. The Spartans will need wins in two of their final four games to reach postseason play.
Following the Spartans’ (4-4 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) heartbreaking 12-10 loss to the No. 20 Wolverines at Michigan Stadium Saturday, Mark Dantonio made an observation.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. After back-to-back 11-win seasons, this was supposed to be the time the MSU football team (4-4 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) broke through a crumbling Big Ten to reach the Rose Bowl for the first time in 25 years.
During the week before the Spartans take on the Wolverines, the Spartan Marching Band protects the symbol and pride of MSU’s campus, the Sparty statue, from vandals in a tradition known as Sparty Watch.
For redshirt freshman tight end Paul Lang, his first touchdown in a green and white uniform couldn’t have been scripted any better.
The No. 23 Michigan football team (5-2 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) used a 20-yard completion from senior quarterback Denard Robinson to junior receiver Drew Dileo to set up a game-winning 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Brendan Gibbons to stun the Spartans (4-4, 1-3) 12-10 in Ann Arbor.
Head coach Mark Dantonio is fond of reminding us football is a game of inches. MSU’s three most recent losses — against No. 8 Ohio State, Iowa and now Michigan — have come by less than six total points.
A 20-yard pass by senior quarterback Denard Robinson to junior receiver Drew Dileo set up a 38-yard game winning field goal to help the University of Michigan football team (5-2 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) avoid an upset, knocking off MSU (4-4, 1-3) 12-10 for the Wolverines’ first victory over MSU in five years.
It was a first half defined by defense with explosive plays in limited supply, as the No. 23 University of Michigan football team (4-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) headed into the locker room leading the Spartans (4-3, 1-2) 6-0 at halftime.
It started with a radio interview after being named the MSU football head coach in 2006, and after being asked about a University of Michigan loss to Appalachian State, he responded with: “Should we have a moment of silence?” It continued with an ultimatum to his team at the news conference before his first game as a head coach against the Wolverines, publicly challenging the Spartans, “How long will you bow to Michigan?” It was followed by a stern reply to former U-M running back Mike Hart’s now infamous “little brother,” comment by angrily replying, “Pride comes before the fall.” And it was reignited in an ESPN.com interview in April, when he responded to a question about U-M’s surge in recruiting by saying, “We’ve beat Michigan the last four years, so where’s the threat?” In his six years at the helm, Mark Dantonio has made one thing abundantly clear: He doesn’t like U-M, and he’s not shy about saying so. But as the Spartans (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) approach a potential historic milestone for the program — a record fifth consecutive victory over archrival U-M (4-2, 2-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) — Dantonio’s tone unexpectedly has shifted, undergoing a noticeable change to one of admiration and respect. “I have a great deal of respect for Brady Hoke,” Dantonio said of the U-M head coach at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
You might not remember the last time Michigan beat MSU in football, which is understandable. Back then, you probably had more important things on your mind, such as remembering the right order of dance moves to “Crank That (Soulja Boy).”
Barely visible at the base of one of the display cases in Schembechler Hall is a sentence etched in small black lettering on the white backdrop: “The Paul Bunyan Trophy is temporarily located in East Lansing but will return next year.”
Pat Narduzzi is determined not to make the same mistake again. The MSU football team’s defensive coordinator widely is credited for coming up with one of the best formulas to contain University of Michigan senior quarterback Denard Robinson, but as the Spartans (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) prepare for their annual rivalry game against No. 23 U-M (4-2, 2-0), he said an early season loss has altered the team’s preparation this week.
With three days remaining until what could be a make-or-break game for the Spartans (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten), quarterbacks coach Dave Warner met with the media to discuss Saturday’s matchup at No. 23 Michigan (4-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten).
When Mark Dantonio looks down the road to the coach who leads the fabled program a little more than 60 miles south, he sees a man he respects, a program back on the rise and a challenge as great as any during his tenure as the Spartans’ head coach. The MSU football team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) will take that trip down south to face archrival No.
For the second time in as many weeks, junior tight end Dion Sims has been left off MSU’s weekly depth chart.
After battling all day through the cold, wind and rain, the Spartans’ defense took the field with 5:47 remaining, a 13-6 lead and the chance to end the game. For the first time all season, the MSU football team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) had captured a halftime lead at home, and managed to build on it throughout the game. There wasn’t a need for a Herculean play to change momentum, just one more stop. But in the final minutes, with the game on the line,” the Spartan defense couldn’t get the ball back”:http://statenews.com/article/2012/10/thunderstruck, allowing Iowa (4-2, 2-0) to use nine plays to drive 68 yards for a game-tying touchdown with 55 seconds remaining. The inability for MSU’s defense to make a stop in the game’s final minutes has become a recurring trend dating back to losses to both Ohio State and Notre Dame earlier in the season. “There’s no doubt about it,” MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said about the defense’s late-game struggles.
In the middle of fall camp, quarterbacks coach Dave Warner gave his junior quarterback a strong vote of confidence, predicting Andrew Maxwell would perform at the same level as graduated quarterback Kirk Cousins did in 2011.
Andrew Maxwell had done it 233 straight times without a problem. Yet the 234th time was different, resulting in a moment that might change the course of the Spartans’ season. The junior quarterback dropped back to pass and, for the first time since the season opener, was intercepted, abruptly ending the game in double overtime, as the MSU football team (4-3 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) fell to Iowa, (4-2, 2-0) 19-16. It was a stunning loss, as the Spartans led up until the final minute of regulation. “Tough football game today,” head coach Mark Dantonio said afterward.