For years the Michigan State Spartans football program has been lost in the shuffle of the Big Ten Conference behind the powerhouses consisting of the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Wisconsin Badgers. The Spartans have not won a national championship since 1966 and they have not appeared in the Rose Bowl since 1988. From 1954-1972, Duffy Daugherty roamed the sidelines in East Lansing and his 109 victories are the most in school history. From 1983-1994, George Perles was the head coach at Michigan State and he was the last man to lead the Spartans to the Rose Bowl. From 1995-1999, Nick Saban was the head coach who resurrected the Spartans from the ashes, but as soon as Michigan State appeared ready to turn the corner and become a national power, Saban left East Lansing in favor of LSU. After four underachieving years with John L. Smith at the helm, former Michigan State athletic director Ron Mason hired Mark Dantonio in 2007.
In his three years at the University of Cincinnati, Dantonio only compiled a record of 18-17, but he has brought the missing ingredient to Michigan State which was toughness.
In Dantonio’s first season in East Lansing, the Spartans blew a late lead to Michigan and lost 28-24. After the game former Michigan running back Mike Hart referred to Sparty as “Michigan’s little brother”. That statement is something that resonated in Dantonio as he would proceed to guide the Spartans to do something that they had never done which was defeat the Wolverines four years in a row. Since Dantonio has taken over at Michigan State, their record against Michigan is 5-2 including a 29-6 beat down of the boys from Ann Arbor last month.
By 2010, Michigan State were the co-champions of the Big Ten and when the conference expanded to 12 teams in 2011, the Spartans were the inaugural Legends Division Champions. The Spartans were on the cusp of a Rose Bowl bid in 2011, but they lost to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.
This season the Spartans didn’t start the year ranked in the top 25, but they were ready to embark on a historic season. In 2012, Michigan State had the fourth ranked defense in the nation and they found a way to improve on that for 2013 as they were the top unit in the nation. In the regular season Michigan State has only allowed two opponents (Indiana and Nebraska) to score over 20 points while surrendering just 248.2 yards per game. The Spartans also went undefeated in the Big Ten for the first time since 1987. Michigan State’s only blemish of the season was a 17-13 road loss to Notre Dame.
The toughness that Dantonio has been establishing was put to the test last Saturday as the Spartans traveled to Indianapolis to take on Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Heading into the game the Buckeyes were undefeated in their last 24 games and they were the top ranked team in the Bowl Championship Series standings. All that was standing between the Buckeyes and a chance to play for the national title was a victory over the Spartans, but it would be easier said than done.
Early on in the second quarter after quarterback Connor Cook found wide receiver Tony Lippett for a 33-yard touchdown pass, the Spartans were up 17-0. Led by quarterback Braxton Miller, Ohio State stormed back to take a 24-17 lead with about 20 minutes left in the game. But after that it was the Spartans will that took over. The Buckeyes had 374 yards of total offense in the game, but after Miller’s touchdown, Ohio State would not see the endzone again as Michigan State scored the last 17 points of the game to win 34-24. In the process Michigan State’s defense only allowed Ohio State to convert once on third down during 10 tries while frustrating the calm, cool, and collected Miller. The Buckeyes and their fans had made plans to travel to Pasadena for the BCS Title Game in January, but instead the Spartans won and they are the ones that are headed to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl.
From 2000-2006, Michigan State had five losing seasons. Since Dantonio took over in 2007, Sparty has only had one losing season while qualifying for a bowl game every year. The Spartans are now able to contend with the Wolverines for the top-tier talent within the state of Michigan while holding their own on the gridiron with the best of the Big Ten. Dantonio is doing what Saban couldn’t be done in East Lansing which was contend with Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten. The Spartans first outright Big Ten Championship since 1987 and a trip to next month’s Rose Bowl say otherwise. Dantonio built this thing from the ground up and he and Michigan State together are reaping the benefits.
Sources: CFBstats.com, Sports-reference.com
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