Spartans Prepare For November Playoff Run
11/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- For Michigan State football, November isn't a month.
It's a season unto itself.
The sensation of heading into postseason play has been heightened by an October-ending bye that serves as a line of demarcation separating what was from what could be.
It matters greatly that the Spartans are 8-0 going into Saturday night's game at Nebraska, but not a whit that they are No. 7 in the first College Football Playoff ranking, released Tuesday night.
Well, except for the part about being listed behind two one-loss teams -- No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Notre Dame -- which adds another chip or two to the stack perpetually affixed to their collective shoulder.
"We don't expect to be in the top four," fifth-year senior quarterback Connor Cook correctly predicted before the CFP announcement. "People never really give us the respect we think we deserve. It's been the same thing ever since I've been here as a freshman.
"We're not expecting anything; we're just going to control what we can control and that's going out every week winning and focusing on that."
With 325-plus-yard passing performances and seven touchdowns in the last three games along with setting a Michigan State single-game record for total yardage (398 passing, 18 rushing for 416 against Indiana), Cook is one of the nation's hottest quarterbacks.
The Spartans, No. 6 in the latest Associated Press poll, have victories against two teams that were ranked in the Top 25 when they played them -- Oregon was No. 7 and Michigan No. 12. Furthermore, MSU's incredibly dramatic 27-23 victory over the Wolverines, who are rated 17th by the CFP, counts among the country's highest-quality road wins this year.
So while the relatively low rankings may rankle Spartan faithful, everything is in place for a statement-making playoff run, which is how Michigan State has consistently viewed the games of November under head coach Mark Dantonio.
The week off provided key players, such as All-America center Jack Allen, left tackle Jack Conklin and right tackle Kodi Kieler, additional time to heal injuries that have curtailed their playing time. The offensive line that started the season will be back in place for the first time since the first quarter of the Oregon game.
"In the situation we're in right now, being undefeated, Coach D put it really good into words when he said from here on out, every game is a championship game," Cook said. "Treat Nebraska like it's a championship game, treat Maryland, Ohio State, and Penn State (as championship games).
"So if we do that and we win out, we'll be right there where we want to be. Coach D keeps harping on our record in November being really, really good since he's been here, so we'll treat it like a playoff season. Each and every one of these games is like a championship game and that should get our minds right."
From that standpoint, the Spartans are as playoff-tested as a team could possibly be. In 2011, they went 4-0 in the final month of the regular season to qualify for the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. A year later, they salvaged a chance at a winning record by beating Minnesota in what amounted to a wildcard playoff game to get into the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, where they defeated TCU.
In '13, Michigan State won out in November and beat No. 2 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game to play in the 100th Rose Bowl. And last season, while a Nov. 8 loss to the Buckeyes in Spartan Stadium cost MSU a spot in the first CFP, it rallied for three-straight wins to land a berth in the Cotton Bowl and become the only team in the nation to end the last two seasons with victories in top-tier bowls.
As much as anything, Dantonio's Big Ten 12-game road winning streak and 21-6 record in November illustrate the Spartans' ability to "take 'em one game at a time" while being even more incentivized by goals that have become clearer in view simply by turning the page on the calendar.
The only way the pivotal Nov. 21 game at No. 1 Ohio State, ranked a puzzling No. 3 by the CFP, is going anywhere is if MSU relegates it to the realm of irrelevance with a November loss, starting with a dangerous Cornhusker team whose first five (of six) losses came by a total of 13 points.
"It's easy for us because we have to win every game to go where we want to go," said junior middle linebacker Riley Bullough. "We would never look past Nebraska, which is an outstanding program. They've got great players and great coaches each year, it's going to be a hostile environment, a night game and it's going to be intense. I compare them to our 2012 team that lost close games but had a lot of great players. Things don't always go your way."
While the CFP selection committee may have downgraded Michigan State because it hasn't won games in a more impressive fashion, Bullough sees the Spartans' penchant for prevailing in light of the circumstances as a program strength, not a weakness.
"I just don't like to use injuries as an excuse because we have depth on this team," he said. "Even when we had guys hurt, we never felt like, `phew, thankfully we won,' after a game because we know we're going to get everybody's best shot and in the Big Ten Conference. Every team has great players and coaches, so we look at every win as a great win no matter who it's against.
"We sitting here undefeated, so obviously we're happy we won all those games. We've got some guys back and we're full-steam-ahead from here. I know if we take care of business and win all of our games, there's no way they can keep us out of (the CFP) in my mind. That's how we feel, so I'm not really interested in (the weekly CFP ranking)."
The Spartans derive confidence from a November mindset that has been passed down from team to team over the years.
"I think it's just our discipline and willingness to compete the entire game and each and every week going out for a win no matter who we're playing," Bullough said. "I think that's important this late in the season, just to keep that motivation going, keep that drive to get to the end.
"Coach D has a great record in November so we've talked about that a little bit the last few days. We don't want to mess that up. November is an important month in football. It's kind of like March for basketball. So we've just got to put us in the best position possible."
Allen, who considers himself close to full-go after missing the last two games with an ankle injury, credits the duress strength and conditioning coach Ken Mannie keeps the team under during the offseason, for MSU's late surges.
"Not many people get pushed like we do on a daily basis," Allen said. "We go through a lot in the winter and then the spring with Coach Mannie, and then through the summer. I know when some teams are a little beat up they kind of wither, but with us it makes us stronger because we're used to being uncomfortable and going through adversity."
Allen equates the restorative powers of the last week away from the daily grind to the anticipation that greets every season opener.
"When you come out to practice that's the feeling because you're so used to being here every single day," he said. "When you're not here for a couple days it's weird. It's almost like the first practice all over again when you're kind of excited.
"Coming off this week off, everyone's legs are fresh and we're flying around."
Dantonio has never given indication that verbally addressing facts will somehow jinx the process, so rather than try to pretend big-picture ramifications don't exist, he frankly tries to get as much mileage out of previous results as possible.
"You've got to win on the road if you're going to compete for championships here. There is no question about that," he said. "Also, we paint that picture to give ourselves confidence. We do talk about what's gone on here in the past for us, and hopefully that repeats itself in the future. We had a good football team last year, were on the verge of being in a playoff situation, understand what happened.
"We talk a lot about it. You better focus on the task at hand; there's no reason to look forward past that, but you also need to understand we have a great opportunity in front of us. Really, we're in control of those opportunities. Nobody else. We have people left on our schedule, beginning with this weekend that can start to tell the story of Michigan State."
