Mark Dantonio Has Radar Like Focus On Michigan State Offensive Troubles in the 4th Quarter

East Lansing, MI The Michigan State Spartans wear their top eight ranking with pride. They should. It is a reflection of the effort and work they put in and

East Lansing, MI

The Michigan State Spartans wear their top eight ranking with pride. They should. It is a reflection of the effort and work they put in and the determination of the Big Ten’s best coaching staff. That said, you can’t run from the elephant in the room.

Whereas the Spartans struggled last year starting fast and finishing strong, in four of their six contests this year-- which happened to be against their most talented four opponents so far--the Spartans have been held scoreless in the fourth quarter. There are a lot of reasons for that.

One reason is Mark Dantonio’s desire not to run up the score. Dantonio comes from the Jim Tressel coaching tree that teaches respect for the game and respect for your opponents. That being said, the game is changing. Fast paced offenses can now produce prolific points quickly and painfully.

On Sunday night I asked Dantonio about those woes and his usual candid answer was telling. “I think every situation is a little bit different. In the game against Oregon, it was just a flat ballgame in the fourth, I felt. We got down there, threw a pick in the red zone or very near the red zone and we didn't make it on a fourth and one, so we did move down there to get the points.”

He continued with, “In the Nebraska game, we made the decision to sort of take the air out of the ball and run it. And we needed to be able to run it more effectively and get the first downs. But our pass game was not didn't feel like we should pass at that time. There had been a couple near interceptions and we did not want to take the risk in that situation.” At Purdue, “We just played the game, but again, we had a fourth quarter interception which limited us, and we went, I think, twice three and out possibly in those situations.”

Those are good explanations and having known Dantonio for as long as I have, I can assure you that they aren’t excuses. So as I dug deeper, Dantonio talked more about the problems. “So why is that? We're assessing that as we speak. I do think that with all that being said, there's some aspect that we're going to get everybody's best shot. You know, so if you can make a play against Michigan State's defense right now, there's a lot of enthusiasm that's created. We need to understand that last year we were hunting and we were the ones that were on a mission, I guess. We still are on that mission. I think it's now a little bit more of the fact that people understand where we're at and are looking to give us their best shot, as well. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but I think we need to understand that aspect and play the other end of that.”

But facts are facts. The Spartan offense has exploded this season. They have scored 273 points, but ONLY 28 in the fourth quarter and those occurred in only two of the six games. Dantonio addressed that issue on Tuesday: “Certainly you want to score more than 28 in the fourth quarter but some of that I think is a result of maybe some of the games where we had our twos in and we really weren't operating at a normal pace. The other ones that are in question are the three games you're probably talking about.” Dantonio finished his train of thought adding, “Certainly we've got to always address our areas of our weaknesses--our areas where we're falling short. And so, you know, every week we're going to address those things; I don't care whether it's a specific play, coverage, whatever it is. You want to address your weaknesses or your areas where you need to perform better. I think that's one of the areas, so we're addressing those things and we'll look for more of that and more opportunities as we go through these games.”

When Mark Dantonio arrived at MSU, it was a goal and a dream for this team to be where it is today. Plenty of people doubted the possibility, but not Dantonio. Through consistent hard work, perseverance and dedication, he has made the dream a reality. He has motivated his team to achieve the goal. As we approach our in-state rival, it’s appropriate to recognize that while John L. Smith chose to treat the UM game casually, as just another game, Dantonio embraced it.

Soon after arriving I asked him about his open talk of the rivalry while his predecessor attempted to ignore or downplay it because of the Wolverine’s dominance. Dantonio responded, “Why would you minimize your biggest game? It matters at MSU. I’ve spent enough time here; I was born and raised in Ohio. We are Spartans. You can’t ignore this game. This isn’t about past staffs; I wasn’t here so I can’t comment on them, but for us it matters. It will always matter and I won’t disrespect our fans by acting like it doesn’t. We have to measure up. If we can’t elevate our program, then that is how we are judged and I am fine with that.”

It is that approach of not ignoring problems or pretending that they don’t exist that has Dantonio fully embracing his 4th quarter anemia. “Well, the bottom line is, do you score points in those situations and put the game out of reach in two of them, and get back into the game in one of them. And so when I watch the fourth quarter, and I watched the fourth quarter this week of each of those games, and you critique those things, there's different situations. There's different teams.”

Dantonio added, “I guess it's a little like playing golf, which I'm not a good golfer but I guess if you're a hundred yards out, it's never the same shot. So it's probably very much the same. It's a different team, different situation. But the end results are that you want to put the Purdue game away; we're on the 20, we're going in, up by 21, things changed.” Dantonio elaborated, “Same thing could be said for the Nebraska game. Ball goes through one of our defensive back's hands, should be a pick six, should be 34 9. But it's not. So you've got to play the cards that are dealt you and you've got to be able to overcome those situations.”

No excuses, but facts are facts, and Dantonio made a great point. “In the end, I feel like we overcame it in the end. Everything that's seemingly a weakness for you at some point in time strengthens you. I firmly believe that. Everything that you go through, the adversity that you go through, the anxiety that you have, will inevitably strengthen you if you look for it to strengthen you. If it allows you to crush your spirit, then you've got problems. But I don't think there's where we're at.”

Are you worried? Dantonio isn’t. “I think our football team is resilient and we're looking forward to another opportunity this weekend. Will be another challenge to go on the road. We've had great games with Indiana down there and we need to play up. We've always come out focused in the game. We've always come out focused after half time. You know, what we've got to do is just close it out, and I think that's something that we've done here in the past and we'll continue to do.” If Dantonio has done anything he has proven himself. If he says that they have to close it out, they will.