Underrated isn’t a word that should be associated with Michigan State football. There’s too much success in East Lansing for that now.
Overlooked and underappreciated still apply. The return of Jim Harbaugh spawned borderline-biblical hype in Ann Arbor on April 4. Defending national champion Ohio State put 99,391 fans in the stands for its spring game last week. Michigan State plays its spring game Saturday, an almost fitting third act, and it won't get nearly the same level of national attention.
That’s all Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio needs to feed his front line.
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“Our guys have always tried to play with a chip on their shoulder,” Dantonio said. “Our feeling is that's sort of the way we've been built here.”
If the old “chip on your shoulder” mantra doesn’t do it, let’s contextualize the Big Ten East Division in “Game of Thrones” speak. If Ohio State and Michigan are the Lannisters and Starks, then Michigan State is the Baratheons. How many people tweet about Stannis on Sundays? Dantonio on Saturdays?
Overlooked and underappreciated, but always in the fight. That’s all that matters.
Thank Dantonio for that.
“Mark Dantonio is a rock-solid guy who doesn’t beat the drum for himself,” Michigan State play-by-play announcer George Blaha said. “He just does the job, and the kids that play for him love him and think the world of him. It’s not his style to be a self-promoter.”
If the Spartans were in the business of self-promotion, these simple facts might do:
— Michigan State and Florida State are the only schools that have finished in the top five in the AP Poll the last two seasons.
— Michigan State is one of five Power 5 schools with 11 or more wins four of the last five years. Ohio State, Alabama, Stanford and Oregon are the others.
— Michigan State won its last four bowl games against TCU, Georgia, Stanford and Baylor.
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Forget the Big Ten. The Spartans might be the most underappreciated program in the FBS. Dantonio brings back another talented roster that starts with projected first-round pick Connor Cook at quarterback, but that success starts with an offensive line that returns tackle Jack Conklin and center Jack Allen.
“My system beliefs is it's always going to start up front,” Dantonio said. “You have to be able to protect and run. That starts with our offensive line.”
If you're looking for style points, look at the defense. The cornerbacks are rolled up, and you know someone's coming. No scheme in college football is more fun to watch. Since 2010, the Spartans have allowed less than 20 points per game and 300 yards per game. Louisville is the only other school in the FBS that can say that.
This year, Michigan State will be without longtime defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, who took the head coaching job at Pittsburgh. Narduzzi worked with Dantonio for 11 seasons with a previous stop at Cincinnati. Narduzzi picked up a lot, but he picked up something more than everything else.
“You win championships with defense would be the No. 1 thing,” Narduzzi said. “Being a defensive coordinator for so many years, you just realize how important that is as you go through the years. We've been pretty dominant up there.”
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Narduzzi said the other would be the art of practicing situational offense and defense in practice. In the same five-year stretch, only Alabama and TCU have allowed fewer first downs. New co-defensive coordinators Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel have been with Dantonio since he took the Cincinnati job in 2004. Defensive end Shilique Calhoun, another potential first-round pick who decided to stay in school, says nothing changed.
"It's our mentality wanting to be aggressive, and also our scheme,” Calhoun said. “Our scheme is designed around being aggressive, being nonstop defense, all green-helmets-to-the-ball-relentless. That's something we pride ourselves on, that's something that fits our scheme and that's something that fits the players we're recruiting.”
That’s also overlooked and underappreciated. Michigan State doesn’t rely on ball control. The Spartans play on their own terms win or lose, whether it’s a shootout against Oregon or Ohio State or a 20-point fourth-quarter comeback against Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.
The truth lies there. Right now, Michigan State is the only Big Ten school that beat Urban Meyer-led Ohio State the last three seasons. Before Harbaugh takes aim at the Buckeyes, he’ll need to go through the Spartans, who are 6-2 against the Wolverines under Dantonio.
Success in that rivalry triggers everything for Michigan State. The latest chapter, the Spartan statue got another coat of maize-and-blue paint, might have elicited a more defensive reaction five years ago. Now, Dantonio laughs and responds, “We all have our issues to deal with.”
"Relative to the rivalry, things always sorta get to you either one way or the other way,” Dantonio said. “I usually say, ‘Everybody’s got a story.' Whether it was the Rose Bowl when we played there, or whether it was talking about a rivalry game and a certain situation that went down.”
That quote is more loaded than it looks. Michigan State and Ohio State are the only two Big Ten teams to win the Rose Bowl in the last decade. Dantonio knows that. Michigan might be coming, but they have to go through the Spartans to get to the Buckeyes. The Wolverines are on their fourth coach since Dantonio took over. He doesn't have to say that out loud.
Overlooked and underappreciated. That’s fine. Blaha says those who know football know exactly where Michigan State is. So do the players.
Thank Dantonio for that, too.
“If they buy into the team concept, they know that Coach D, as they call him, will be on their team not only now but the rest of their lives,” Blaha said. “He really is a Michigan State Spartan.”
