Mark Dantonio was watching with a smile on his face when the clock wound down in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Michigan State reclaimed the Paul Bunyan Trophy and was bringing it back to East Lansing, just like Dantonio did so many times during his run as the Spartans head coach,

Saturday’s win was Michigan State’s first in the rivalry since 2017 and was also the first career win for head coach Mel Tucker at Michigan State. He made history with the victory, becoming the first head coach at MSU since Nick Saban to win his first game against the Wolverines.

A proud former head coach, Dantonio used his trademark phrase when playing U-M to congratulate his former team.

“It’s JUST GETTING STARTED! Congrats!!” Dantonio wrote on Twitter after MSU’s 27-24 victory over U-M. “Enjoy the ride HOME TO MSU! AND bring Paul Bunyan with you! Go Green!”

Dantonio famously tweeted “It’s not over. It’ll never be over. It’s just getting started,” back in December 2017. Michigan was selected to to play in the Outback Bowl that year over Michigan State, despite the Spartans winning the head to head and having a better a better record.

Unfortunately for Dantonio, he never beat Michigan again after that tweet. But on Saturday, MSU was back on the right side of the rivalry. The former head coach took the opportunity to celebrate the big win.