Spartans Determined to Get Back on Track Against BYU
10/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
EAST LANSING, Mich. â€" At 0-2, Michigan State bears scant resemblance to the Spartan teams of the last three seasons.
Although interested observers may find this hard to believe, the awareness inside the shrouded fences of the practice fields adjoining the Duffy Daugherty Football Building is even more acute.
That's why players who have grown up in the program, the ultimate insiders, have taken the extraordinary step to unblinkingly confront the situation while there is still time to make a pit stop, make the necessary repairs, and return to the race.
In the wake of back-to-back losses for the first time since 2012, they asked Coach Mark Dantonio for, and were granted, permission to address the team en masse.
"The older guys just felt it feels different, knowing how it's been in the past," said junior center Brian Allen. "Older guys have led this team and younger guys have followed but we've just gotta get everybody on the same page to let them know that what's happened the last two weeks is something that's embarrassing â€" it shouldn't happen here.
"We have the talent, and the attitude that guys have passed onto us. We can't let it drop off. We've got to keep going, but it's been evident that last two weeks it just hasn't been there. We talked about the Spartan Dawgs and guys aren't playing like that right now. Guys don't have that attitude and we need to re-find that and show the younger guys what it is. Maybe we've done a crappy job of passing that on, but we need to get it going."
Oddly positioned after the start of league play, Saturday's non-conference game against BYU in Spartan Stadium probably couldn't come at a better time.
Dantonio has made it clear that there'll be no attempt to retool this season with an eye toward 2017 and that winning the next game on the schedule is always, as it should be, the highest priority.
Losses to Wisconsin and Indiana dented Michigan State's goal of defending its Big Ten East Division and conference titles, and dropped the Spartans to the back of the pack. They know they'll need some help from other teams along the way, but the primary tie-breaker â€" head-to-head results â€" is still in play for the five intra-divisional games remaining on their schedule.
"We're not cashing out this year yet," Dantonio said. "We're a 2-2 football team. As far as the out-of-conference game (is concerned), we need to win the football game, so we're going to do what we have to do to win the football game. It's paramount that we win.
"Regardless of what's happened in the past, you have an opportunity to make it right and to play forward and start to improve those particular situations that allow you to win a game. So that's what we have to do. I think there's conviction on our football team. I know our football team and everybody's hurting a little bit...I'm quite confident they'll be ready to play."
Steel is hardened through adversity â€" heated to nearly 2,000 degrees before being quickly plunged into cold oil. It's tempered by reheating it to up to 662 degrees for two hours to produce optimum hardness for the correct "balance between sharpness, retention, grindability and toughness," according to the Sandvik Materials Technology.
Dantonio probably wishes this process could have taken place without a two-game losing streak, "but here we are," he said. "I will say this, when you have problems, there's usually great growth. There's leadership growth. There's growth in terms of what it takes to be able to accomplish things, and that's natural.
"It's a place we haven't been for a while, but doesn't mean we're not going places. We'll get there."
The oft-referenced 2012 season, widely regarded as the wart on the Dantonio-led resurgence because it came after 11-2 and 11-3 finishes and preceded 13-1, 11-2 and 12-2 successes, nevertheless continues to serve as a valuable teachable juncture in the development of his program. After suffering a pair of two-game losing streaks in a five-game span, the Spartans rose up in desperation to beat Minnesota in the regular season finale to salvage a bowl bid.
That dramatic 17-16 victory over TCU in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl remains one of the most significant turning points in recent program history.
Fifth-year seniors, such as tight end Josiah Price, were redshirt freshmen that season.
"We didn't play, but we were here and we got to experience it," Price said. "(We learned) you can never give up and never surrender. Those guys came to work each and every day. They brought their hard hats.
"I remember guys like Chris Norman, (Andrew) Maxwell, Le'Veon (Bell), Dion (Sims) â€" all those guys came to work each and every day even though things weren't going their way and balls weren't bouncing their way at the end of games. When things were tough they still came here to work each and every day and got better as a team and as individuals. They didn't blame others, and point fingers at others, they just tried to stick it out as a team and grow from it.
"But I don't think this is as all the team we had in 2012. We've got a lot of different athletes and a lot deeper and talented team. But, we do have a lot of young guys who are learning how to play and learning that they have to put in a little more time during the week, maybe, to be more prepared on weekends."
 | "You've got to embrace it. You can't run from it. You can't hide from it. We've got to come together as a team." -Senior tight end Josiah Price |
When Nick Saban coached the Spartans from 1995-1999, he once said a play's success depends on 11 players carrying out their assignments correctly, whether it be on offense, defense or special teams. The play can still work OK if one player messes up. There's a 50-percent chance of pulling it off if two players are doing it wrong and it almost no chance, barring a twist of fate, if three or more are out of sorts.
Getting the offense, defense and special teams choreographed to operate efficiently without penalties, mistakes turnovers and other factors that can have an adverse effect on MSU's staples for success, such as time-of-possession, has been a challenge with so many newcomers being counted on to contribute and returning letter-winners in different roles.
"When you're a young player, you're a young player with ability if you're playing, and certainly you can recognize that with all three of those guys," Dantonio said, using freshman receivers Donnie Corley, Trishton Jackson and Justin Layne as examples. "But what you also don't recognize is that a route needs to be run at 18 and it's run at 13, it's a big difference for the quarterback.
"You've got some drops out there. You've got a guy running a route or not running a route when it's a pass route and he's out there blocking. I mean, that causes a problem for the quarterback. So there are growing pains that come along with playing young players. They're going to make some mistakes and they're going to make some plays."
If the losses rid MSU of a sense of entitlement that comes with being sublimely talented and having things come so easily as a high-school wunderkind â€" which Dantonio refers to as being "born on third" base -- then the suffering they caused will not have been without benefit.
"It's not fun, it's not easy, but you've got to deal with it," Price said. "You've got to embrace it. You can't run from it. You can't hide from it. We've got to come together as a team. We can't say, ‘Oh, it's the younger guys' fault. It's the guys' who didn't play much in past fault. It's the coaches' fault. It's the seniors' fault. It's special teams' fault.'
"You can't just blame everyone. You've just to attack it head-on and say, ‘Hey we've got to be better at special teams. Our younger guys have got to step up more. Our older guys have got to lead and step up more. Our coaches have to do more."
Dantonio clearly isn't happy about being 2-2, but also doesn't appear to be sorry that newer players are getting acquainted with the hardship, "They haven't experienced…, that others have gone through to get to this place to where it's at." Price is also hopeful this crisis helps the Spartans correct their direction.
"I think we're really close as a team, but I think any time you face two losses you're going to see the worst side of people," Price said. "Your job's easy when you're winning all your games â€" everyone's happy and loving life and everybody's talking great about you. But when you lose and you face some adversity and people are doubting you and saying some pretty nasty stuff about you, it's tough to deal with.
"But I think this team and the way we responded with a great day of practice and the way we responded in our meetings, it shows a lot that this team is still really close and we're not going to fight against each other and crumble, and self-destruct. We're going to try to build off each other and grow closer from this.
"Our older guys talked to the team and let them know we've got to pick this up. This isn't OK."
And that's because the only reason you play the game is to win.
