Dantonio: MSU must be held accountable - as a team
EAST LANSING – Despite entering this week’s game against Michigan mired in a five-game losing streak, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio still believes in his team’s chemistry.
It’s the betrayals of confidence, technique and structure that are contributing to the challenges the Spartans are tackling internally – all while getting ready to face their biggest rival and the No. 2 team in the nation in six days.
“There’s no question that when things like this happen, you have a tendency to go back and question yourself and question things,” Dantonio said Sunday night. “That’s human nature. But at the end of the day, you hope that everybody moves forward and has accountability.”
There wasn’t a hint of chatter about MSU’s next opponent, Michigan (noon, ESPN), during Dantonio’s teleconference. Coaches early this morning watched a replay of Saturday night’s 28-17 loss at Maryland. Their players met in position groups and lifted weights during the afternoon, then the normal Sunday evening meeting would kick off preparations for facing the 7-0 Wolverines.
Yet there remains plenty to discuss with the Spartans, 2-5 overall and 0-4 to start Big Ten play for the first time since 1982. Dantonio continues to call MSU’s problems “all-inclusive” in battling the program’s first five-game skid since 1991, before any of the current players were born.
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“No question it’s challenging. I don’t think there’s any question,” Dantonio said. “But again, if we all take responsibility, the chemistry stays. I think we’re trying to do that. … We need to stay together, and we need to understand that we lost the football game, not one specific person – WE lost the football game. If we can at least all accept responsibility in that, then I think we all move forward.”
Dantonio focused on a few key plays that went awry at Maryland, including Monty Madaris’ fumble at the Terps’ 5-yard line and the receiver’s two questionable offensive pass interference calls, plus Brian Lewerke’s low throw to Donnie Corley that likely would have been a touchdown on the following third-quarter drive.
“We have an offensive (pass interference) call, which is difficult for me to distinguish, I guess. That would be the political way I guess to talk about it,” Dantonio said. “It’d given us a first down on the 29, but it takes us not only out of field-goal position but it makes us have to punt. … Then we have another offensive P.I. call, which again needs to be explained, I guess.”
Of redshirt freshman Lewerke, who made his second straight start and threw for 156 yards and ran for 79, Dantonio said there were positives in his performance. However, the coach saw rookie mistakes, such as scrambling out of the pocket too quickly to avoid pressure and missing receivers.
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“At the end of the day also, he’s still a redshirt freshman, so there’s some things that, you know, he could do a better job on and recognize faster,” Dantonio said. “I’m on the sideline, I’m watching a (Maryland) guy tie his shoe getting ready to cover our wide receiver. He’s tying his shoe. We’ve got to play on and shoot the ball out to him, and it’s an either-or play, and we run the inside zone. That ball’s got to go outside. The guy’s tying his shoe through the whole play. Things like that.
“Or scrambling when it’s fourth-and-16 – you’re going to have to throw the ball down the field. … Those things are going to come as he gets more and more experience, but I do think that he made some plays out there.”
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