Spartans proud of resilience
Another win over Michigan shows 3-9 year was aberration.
MICHIANN ARBOR, MICH. — gan State has made last season look like an aberration.
And t he Mark Dantonio-coached Spartans have proved their dominance against Michigan is no fluke.
“We’ve done it eight times,” Dantonio said. “I don’t know why there’s a lot of doubt.”
With a defense that forced five turnovers and an offense that didn’t make many mistakes, double-digit underdog Michigan State beat the Wolverines 14-10 on Saturday night. For the first time in a rivalry that stretches back to 1898, the Spartans have beaten Michigan eight times in a 10-year stretch.
A season after slipping to 3-9 and seeing a scandal shake the program, the Spartans (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) are showing Dantonio has built a program strong enough to bounce back. They broke into the AP poll Sunday at No. 21. Michigan (4-1, 1-1) dropped from seventh to 17th.
“I knew that our football team and our program would come back,” said Dantonio, who two years ago led MSU to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
But he was not ready to say the Spartans have arrived.
“We’re becoming a good team,” he said. “I don’t know if we’re there yet.”
Several mon t hs ago, there were questions about whether Michigan State would even have its annual spring game, and some were suggesting the public scrimmage at Spartan Stadium should be canceled while three players were suspended during a sexual assault investigation.
Those players — Josh King, Donnie Corley Jr. and Demet- ric Vance — are awaiting trials and have been dismissed from the university.
Their former teammates have bonded and found a way to win again.
“There’s a little sense of relief there,” linebacker Chris Frey said. “All the things we’ve been through as a team, we fought through that . ... We gave our blood, sweat and tears in the off- season.”
The Spartans have always had to fight for respect in their own state, struggling to overcome the fact that they’re often overshadowed by college football’s winnin- gest program.
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s arrival at Michigan attracted attention, locally and nation- ally, and his fans were confident he would find a way to beat the Spartans, unlike his predecessors Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez. After three games, though, Harbaugh is 1-2 against Dantonio.
Both teams had similar strengths and weaknesses Saturday. They had to count on stingy defenses and hope shaky offenses could make enough plays to win.
Dantonio played it safe with the lead, keeping the ball on the ground on a windy and rainy night: “We played smart with the weather.”
Harbaugh threw caution to the wind even with backup quarterback John O’Korn filling in for injured Wilton Speight, who might miss the rest of the season because of three fractured vertebrae.
O’Korn threw three inter - ceptions.