Mark Dantonio Has Brought Hope Back to Michigan State

Michigan State fans know it well.

That feeling of seeing a promising season collapse into a disappointing one. The "collapse" happened so many times in Spartan recent history that waiting for the collapse to happen became a national joke.

Talking heads on ESPN, writers for Sports Illustrated, and fans all around the country would see a fast start by the Spartans year after year and take bets as to when "the collapse" would start. 

It wasn't as if the Spartans had never seen great success.  Far from it.

Since they started playing football in 1896 as Michigan Agricultural College, the Spartans won or shared six National Championships.  Since joining the Big Ten in 1953 they won or shared nine Big Ten Titles.   

Coaching legends Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty, whose Michigan State teams were so successful the program earned the nickname "football factory," churned out some of the best players in college football's history, including Earl Morrall, Sonny Grandelius, Don McAulliffe, Dorne Dibble, Tom Yewcic, Bob Carey, and Dean Look.

But under former head coach John L. Smith, the Spartans weren't remembered for past successes, and the fans of this once-proud program were finding it harder and harder to cling to those memories.

Instead they remembered losing to their most hated rival, Michigan, in 2004 by a final score of 45-37 after leading the game 27-10 in the fourth quarter.

They remembered losing to Ohio State 35-24 in 2005, in which the Spartans held a 17-7 lead and looked poised to add more points right before the half.

But instead of spiking the ball on third down to stop the clock with 10 seconds remaining in the half, the field goal unit was rushed onto the field.  In the confusion, only 10 Spartans lined up, and the field goal try was blocked and returned by Ohio State for a touchdown, changing the game for good. 

They remembered losing to Notre Dame in 2006 after leading 37-21 midway through the fourth quarter.

They remembered losing to Illinois by a final score of 23-20, on Homecoming, giving the Illini their first Big Ten win in two years.

The program had been in steady decline since George Perles and the Spartans won the school's last Big Ten Championship in 1990.  Perles had four rocky years after that championship season and was fired after the 1994 season when the University placed self-imposed sanctions on the team for a grade tampering scandal.  All victories in 1994 were forfeited.

The program had some success under Nick Saban, including a 1998 win over the No. 1 Buckeyes in Columbus, but overall the program didn't grow and Saban failed to win a Big Ten Championship.

Bobby William's short stint as head coach yielded more of the same: forgettable performances and no championships. 

When John L. Smith was fired in 2006, it was clear that the program had to go in a new direction.  The culture in East Lansing had gone from a winning tradition to a losing one in the span of 20 years, and even worse, under Smith the Spartans had become a team that was known more for choking than for winning.

 

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA

Mark Dantonio was no stranger to Michigan State fans.  The coach had served as an assistant to both Nick Saban and Bobby Williams at Michigan State.

He was known for his defensive prowess, no nonsense approach, and excellent recruiting abilities.  He had also proven that he could build a team up. 

There was renewed hope in East Lansing.

Dantonio's first season in East Lansing was the most successful since 2003.  The Spartans compiled a 7-5 record and went to their first bowl game in four years.  The Spartans lost a hard-fought game to Boston College in the Champs Sports Bowl.

All six losses in 2007 were by seven points or less, but the Michigan State faithful could sense that this team had changed.  Instead of choking away games they should have won, the team was fighting hard and just coming up short. 

The losing culture was starting to disappear, and in its place was a renewed sense of hope for the future.

As the 2008 season approached, the Spartans were finally being talked about in a positive light.  Many considered this Spartan team a dark horse for the Big Ten Title, and the talk of a successful campaign was welcomed with cautious optimism by Michigan State fans everywhere.

The road would be difficult, but Dantonio and the Spartans assured the fans they were up to the task.  Dantonio especially was unwavering in his stance that his team would never give up—and they haven't.

During the season the Spartans have faced several forks in the road—a season-opening loss to Cal, injuries to their starting quarterback, a blowout loss to Ohio State in East Lansing—but through it all the Spartans kept fighting.

They beat their hated rival Michigan in Ann Arbor, they handed Notre Dame a lopsided loss, and now they find themselves sitting in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with one game remaining.

When Michigan State takes the field in Happy Valley on Saturday, the Spartans will be one win away from clinching a share of their first Big Ten Title in 18 years.  They are already assured of a January Bowl game, and there is still a possibility that they could go to the Rose Bowl.

"To do something that hasn't been done in 18 years makes it very, very special, not only to Michigan State and its fans, but to the players that are playing," Dantonio told ESPN. "Penn State's an outstanding football team, great talent, they're extremely well coached. But we're coming to play."

When Dantonio took over at Michigan State, he talked about regaining the respect of Spartans fans, who had repeatedly been burned.  The head Spartan has earned that respect, and a win over Penn State will go a long way to restoring Michigan State's respect nationally.

"That's a continuous thing that you fight, that respect factor," Dantonio said. "This is a world of instant gratification. People want it and want it now. We are truly a work in progress, but we come to play. And as long as you come to play and we play with confidence and we know what we're doing on that end, we'll always have a chance."

A chance is all Michigan State fans could have hoped for.  The knowledge that their team will take the field and play hard and never give up was missing for far too long.

Gone are the days of underachieving.

"We have a group of overachievers," Dantonio said.  "Any great team, any team that's winning right now, has got a bunch of overachievers, regardless of the talent level. There's so much parity in college football, there's so many things that can pop up and go wrong throughout the season, that you better be at your best and you better be a little bit past your best."

Michigan State fans know that now and can rest assured their team will always strive to play a little bit past their best.

Hope has returned to East Lansing thanks to Mark Dantonio and a group of overachieving Spartans.