Mark Dantonio, Tuesday afternoon in the midst of a nightmare season but coming off the first conference win of the year, met with reporters at Spartan Stadium ahead of the Ohio State showdown.
Dantonio looks forward to the challenge of facing No. 2 Ohio State at home. "They're loaded with athletes." J.T. Barrett and Curtis Samuel lead offensively. "Defensively, they go deep. We're not going to get into that."
Dantonio ruled defensive tackle Malik McDowell "out" before clarifying he didn't know why the team removed him from his latest depth chart. "He'll either start or he won't play."
The staff recruited WR Donnie Corley to play on both sides of the ball. Their plan is to make him tired by the end of the game.
Dantonio admitted the team was "out there in the desert a little bit" before big win at Rutgers.
"I just don't ever going into a game saying we're the underdog to our team. ... We've always gone into a game planning to win."
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Dantonio cited ties with Earle Bruce and Jim Tressel, among others, when admitting Ohio State will always be a special place to him. "I have a deep respect for Ohio State and what they've been able to accomplish. In the long-term."
"This is the No. 2 team we're facing. The question is, how do you measure up?"
"We've led in every football game. I think every game has been pretty competitive."
On the young players they've been forced to play facing Ohio State: "They better learn quick." Dantonio admits it's a faster learning curve playing real games vs. scout team. "We'll see how we measure up. That's part of it."
Dantonio on meeting Woody Hayes three times: "Pretty crazy." One time, Hayes, a history buff, talked about Zanesville, which had a great pottery industry.
After a game as a GA, he walked into Hayes' office as a GA. "Having a program in my hand, I said, 'Hey, can you sign this?' And I got his autograph. Still have the program, too."
"He was one of those football guys who, anybody in football, knows who Woody Hayes is."
Dantonio cited his senior leadership as reason his team weathered the storm. In 1998, Dantonio was part of a Michigan State team that wasn't going to a bowl that beat a No. 1 team in Columbus.
"We didn't go to a bowl, but everyone seems to remember that one."
