No panic from Dantonio after battering by Badgers
EAST LANSING – All is not well, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio admitted Sunday night.
That doesn’t mean the 16th-ranked Spartans are conceding the season after one loss. And it doesn’t mean a change is imminent at quarterback.
“I don’t think there’s any winners in what went down yesterday, including my performance,” Dantonio said Sunday night via teleconference. “I think we all have to look at each other and say we can do better. We’ve got to scratch and claw and gut it out.
Dantonio reaffirmed what he said following Saturday’s 30-6 loss to Wisconsin, calling Tyler O’Connor MSU’s starting quarterback. The fifth-year senior threw three interceptions and no touchdowns while completing 18 of 38 passes for 224 yards.
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“Football is a simple game in some respects. But in other respects, it becomes a complicated game, and it’s all tied together much like any puzzle,” Dantonio said. “So the quarterback gets pressured, things start to happen in a negative way. Receivers are locked up, they can’t get off press coverage, and there is nobody to throw to. Then pressure starts to come even more because you can’t hold the ball forever back there. And there are also times you got to find the open guy. So it’s an accumulation of things.”
Dantonio pointed to defensive problems on third down, allowing Wisconsin to continue drives due to a lack of pressure on redshirt freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook.
Still, the Spartans are 2-1 as they prepare for a night game at Indiana next Saturday. They’ve also recovered from early losses in each of the past three years, going 38-6 since the start of the 2013 season.
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“Life is about adversity and the way you handle it,” Dantonio said. “And I talk to our players all the time – and basically to my family and myself and our staff. You know, you’re defined ultimately on how you handle. …
“We’ll be OK.”
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.
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