Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh explains his Mark Dantonio tweet

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh took a Twitter swipe at Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio earlier this week. 

On Thursday, he offered an explanation. 

Speaking with CBS Tampa at an Outback Bowl welcome event, Harbaugh was asked why he sent the tweet about Dantonio, Michigan State's offseason and the Spartans' turnaround from a 3-9 record. 

"I didn't understand how he dragged us into his frustration about what bowl game he went to," Harbaugh said. "I'd just prefer he didn't talk about us." 

Asked a follow-up if believed it was "healthy" for two rivals to have a little fun, Harbaugh replied: "Yeah. Yeah, healthy."

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The back-and-forth started Sunday after Michigan State learned the Wolverines were selected ahead of them for the Outback Bowl. Michigan (8-4) will play South Carolina (8-4) on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. 

The Spartans (9-3) had a better regular-season record and a head-to-head win over Michigan, but were still passed up by the Outback committee, pushing MSU to the Holiday Bowl for a matchup with Washington State (9-3) in San Diego on Dec. 28. 

Dantonio, who improved to 2-1 vs. Harbaugh with a win over Michigan this season and 8-2 over the past 10 years, was asked a direct question about the situation. He responded: 

“Well, I just look at it as the opportunity to play in the Holiday Bowl right now,” Dantonio said. “You know, the records are what they are. I’ll just continue to concentrate on beating Michigan. And things will sort of sort out.”

The following day, Harbaugh took to Twitter with his response. 

"Saw Coach D comments on continuing to 'focus' on how 'he' can beat Michigan," Harbaugh wrote via Twitter. "Congrats on turning around a 3-9 team, plagued with off field issues. Good for BIG to have him back." 

Roughly two hours later, Dantonio tweeted: 

"For all Spartans, 'it's not over, it'll never be over, it's just getting started,' #SpartansWill." 

Michigan and Michigan State will next meet Oct. 20, 2018 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

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Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner. 

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