Couch: Holiday Bowl feels like a snub for Michigan State, which is perfect for Dantonio

EAST LANSING – Mark Dantonio will wind up loving Michigan State’s bowl snub, if that’s what you call this.

MSU deserved a more prominent bowl game than Michigan. Even the most ardent of the Wolverine faithful would admit that.

The Spartans instead play Washington State in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Diego, while the Wolverines are in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 1. Both games are part of the Big Ten’s official “top tier” of affiliated bowl games. And San Diego is a way better destination city. But …

The Outback chose first. And it chose Michigan. It chose the bigger brand, the better TV ratings, the larger fan following. And, yes, the lesser team. MSU is 9-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten. Michigan is 8-4 and 5-4 and lost the head-to-head matchup, in Ann Arbor, no less.

More:Michigan State football: What to watch vs. Washington State at Holiday Bowl

“The records are what they are,” Dantonio said during a Sunday afternoon press conference. “I’ll just continue to focus on beating Michigan.”

Yep, this bowl will work just fine for Dantonio, who’s built a program and made his living, in part, by flipping the script on that rivalry and reveling in verbal jousting.

What’s deserved has little to do with this part of the bowl selection process. Otherwise 9-3 Northwestern, which beat MSU, would be in the Outback Bowl — instead of playing Kentucky in the Music City Bowl in Nashville — and the Spartans would still be in San Diego.

“That’s where we’re going, and we’re going to be excited,” Dantonio said. 

Eventually, they will be. Just not Sunday.

More:MSU's Dantonio: Holiday Bowl bid vs. Washington State not a slight

Some of the disappointment stemmed from what felt like a change in plans. The Spartans were headed to the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando to face LSU until Wisconsin fell into the Orange Bowl, which, by conference bowl agreement, took the Citrus Bowl away from the Big Ten this season.

The Citrus Bowl is ahead of the Outback Bowl in the Big Ten bowl pecking order and, moreover, it’s a game MSU and its fans associate with as one of the more exciting times in program history — Jan. 1, 2000, against Florida, which, between the 1987 and 2013 Rose Bowl seasons, was the most hopeful moment of Spartan football in more than a quarter-century. That game against Steve Spurrier’s Gators felt big. This game against LSU would have felt bigger than the Holiday Bowl.

Mother Nature didn’t help the Spartans, either. She dumped more of her misery on East Lansing during MSU’s final home game. By the second half, there were 65,000 empty seats at Spartan Stadium as Outback Bowl representatives passed out pins and flyers in the press box.

“What’s the point of playing a regular season if bowl decisions are made regardless of record?” MSU senior linebacker and co-captain Chris Frey tweeted after learning the Spartans’ bowl fate Sunday.

More:Michigan State football miffed after Outback Bowl picks Michigan

This is what the Big Ten chose. It sold selection rights to these games so its teams could make more money. This is all about money. If you want some measure of fairness, you have to be in the top dozen teams in the country to grab a spot in one of the New Year’s Six bowls. Only there can teams like Northwestern and Central Florida be treated as equals with Michigan and Ohio State.

Michigan State falls in the middle. Being reminded of such is no fun. Especially on a day that was supposed be about celebrating a remarkable season.

It still is. Dantonio seems in a good place. His program is in a good place. When he was introduced during the MSU basketball game Sunday, he received a standing ovation. He stood from his seat and pointed at the crowd with both arms, mouthing, “Thank all of you.” It was clear he was emotional, appreciative.

The Holiday Bowl is an established game in a beautiful year-round city. It’s a matchup of two top 20 opponents, MSU No. 16 and Washington State 18.

This will be a good bowl experience. Not ideal. Not better than Michigan’s. Not any worse, either. But no one is questioning any longer whether MSU under Dantonio is a stronger program than Michigan. The Spartans should enjoy the bowl game without letting old feelings bother them, all the while knowing Dantonio and his players won’t forget.

You can bet Sunday’s snub will be part of Dantonio’s call to arms on Oct. 20, 2018, in East Lansing.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.