Bowl Game the Target; Mission is to Win Out November

For Michigan State, the possibility of missing a bowl game is scary. Sure, those folks in Ann Arbor can bellyache about their program possibly missing a bowl

For Michigan State, the possibility of missing a bowl game is scary. Sure, those folks in Ann Arbor can bellyache about their program possibly missing a bowl game for the second consecutive year, something that hasn’t happened since the time of Julius Caesar, but for MSU, the stakes are, believe it or not, much higher.

You see, the Spartans live in a delicate world. The football program seems to be perpetually rebuilding, unlike the Wolverines, who have gone from default Big Ten and National Championship contenders to that team that used to be good but got beat by Appalachian State then hired a coach from Appalachia.

So missing a bowl game would be two steps forward and one step back, where as what Mark Dantonio is trying to build is 100 steps forward and if you go backwards, it better be because you got hit by a Mac truck.

“As you try and make it to bowl games, the first thing you have to try and do is get there,” the head coach said on Sunday. “Bowls are opportunities to get better as a football team, they are opportunities to play and practice and get our younger players ready.”

For the Spartans, developing youth is of the utmost importance. For this staff, when a young player is as good as a player who is a class ahead, the younger player gets playing time; there is simply more upside when youth is on your side and the talent is equal. But for MSU, where competition is a cardinal virtue that has been embraced by scholarship and walk-on players alike, it’s very difficult for youngsters to crack through the depth chart.

“We have a young football team, for the most part,” Dantonio said. “We have 53 guys that are freshmen or sophomores. So getting to that bow game would be very important for those 17 guys or so that are redshirting and some of the guys that are redshirt freshmen right now to try and play themselves into situations.”

The development is particularly important for one group of players, Dantonio noted: “Especially when you look at the offensive line, because we have a lot of young players there for next year. I think it would give them an opportunity to take a big step toward their development.”

But before this team can think about postseason play, winning out November is the goal. “I think any time you want to become a better football team, you have to win in November,” Dantonio said. “If you lose in November, you sort of tailspin out of things and it leaves you with a bad feeling, as you go into, whether it’s bowl game preparation or whether it’s next year. … I think we’ve been okay in November, but we’ve lost a couple, and the challenge now will be to go 3-0.”

With a 5-2 record in the month while leading MSU, Dantonio has had some success late in the season, but the hill this year appears to be much steeper than in his first two seasons. The season ends, of course, with a monumental challenge against an always talented Penn State squad. But before the Nittany Lions roll into town, MSU must travel to the Hoosier State to face upstart Purdue.

While the Boilermakers (3-3, 4-6) might not appear to be the most intimidating bully on the Big Ten block, it has some might impressive victories under its belt this season, shocking Ohio State at home and beating Michigan on the road. The Black and Gold nearly beat Oregon on the road as well, losing only 38-36 in one of the toughest venues in America.

For Dantonio, to make it to a bowl game, the mission in November is clear: beat the Boilermakers. “The road goes through Purdue first,” he said. “They’re a hot football team right now, they play very well.”