EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio won more games in his first two seasons than any coach in school history.
Dantonio’s third season, though, has started with a thud: The Spartans (1-3, 0-1 Big Ten) have lost three straight games.
“There’s a lot of football left to be played – we have eight games left,” Dantonio said Tuesday. “You can write our story at the end of the season.”
Dantonio insisted that he, his staff and players will be defined by how they respond to adversity. They get a chance Saturday with a big home game against No. 23 Michigan (4-0, 1-0).
If the Spartans win, they’ll have back-to-back victories against their rival for the first time since winning three in a row from 1965-67.
“It would make it a huge deal, 42 years is a long time,” linebacker Greg Jones said.
A victory at Spartan Stadium would also quiet Dantonio’s critics, who didn’t have much to complain about the past two years.
n L. Smith. He won seven games in 2007, guiding the Spartans to a bowl game for the first time in four years. Michigan State followed up the surprising season with another one last year, winning nine games, and played on New Year’s Day for the first time in nine seasons.
The Spartans were projected to be solid this season despite losing quarterback Brian Hoyer, running back Javon Ringer and safety Otis Wiley.
“Expectations have changed, but we’re always trying to play for respect,” Dantonio said.
Dantonio is a former Cincinnati coach and Michigan State assistant who worked for Nick Saban in the 1990s. He looks and sounds as calm in the face of criticism as he did when he was showered with praise for seemingly turning around a program that hasn’t been consistently good in over four decades.
“Your message needs to remain the same,” Dantonio said. “We’ve gotten to where we’ve gotten because what we’ve done, and how we’ve done it, so you don’t all the sudden change. Whether it’s your family or job, how you respond to tough times that makes the difference.
“If you’re on a voyage, you’re going to remember the times in the rough waters – not when you’re sailing easy.”
Quarterback Keith Nichol said he’d take a dip for Dantonio.
“I’d jump off a bridge for him if he needed,” Nichol said.
ttering, “Same Old Spartans,” after his first two seasons restored pride within and outside the program.
Losing to Central Michigan, though, created some doubts.
“Whether it’s with my children or my football team, I tell them they don’t need to worry about the problems,” Dantonio said. “I’m big enough to handle the problems. Our players need to focus on getting ready for a football game and to do what we need to do – together – to win.”
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