Michigan State still seeking its identity
The first phase of the season is over at Michigan State. How the next month goes will say a lot about how things might play out.
After last week’s victory over Central Michigan, the margin for error begins to close rapidly for the Spartans as it’s all Big Ten play from here, beginning with Saturday’s noon matchup at Spartan Stadium with Northwestern.
Where does No. 20 Michigan State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) stand at this point? What is their identity as the push for the Big Ten East title begins for a team that has been good defensively but is still trying to find its way on offense?
“I talked to our team yesterday about that, what’s our identity?” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said.
“We talk about here’s the goals we want to accomplish this next month. We’ve really been in two months of football — one month of camp and one month of four weeks of one Big-Ten game and three out-of-conference games. So these next four games sort of start to define you a little bit.”
It’s this time of year that has defined Michigan State in the past. That’s been clear in good years and bad.
Back in 2013, the Spartans were still searching by the time October rolled around; they responded by tearing through the Big Ten and reaching the Rose Bowl for the first time in 25 years. It’s worked the opposite way, as well, evidenced by 2016, when the Spartans didn’t win a single game in October.
There’s no doubt that how the next four weeks play out — three home games vs. Northwestern, Michigan and Purdue as well as a trip to Penn State — will set the course for Michigan State.
“Then you chase in November,” Dantonio said.
“You chase championships, you chase bowl games or you chase whatever in November. So these next four weeks are critical weeks, I think, for our football team. We got to get some players back who are hurt, I think we’re going to do that.”
Despite the loss last week of wide receiver Cody White to a broken hand, the Spartans are hoping to get several key players back this week, including running back LJ Scott and wide receivers Darrell Stewart Jr. and Jalen Nailor.
That will go a long way in establishing the Spartans’ identity, one Dantonio hopes he’s seen before.
“(In 2013) we lost to Notre Dame and then I think we started (Big Ten play) with Iowa,” he said. “We started developing an identity and coming out in November we were playing our best football. That’s what you want to have happen. You want to play your best football through November.”
