Mark Dantonio after third straight loss: 'You can't abandon ship right now'

Falling below .500 in B1G play at 2-3, the Michigan State Spartans (4-4) dropped their third straight game on Saturday, 28-7, to the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-0) at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

A cold, rainy day, neither team was at their sharpest offensively. Totaling 265 yards, the Spartans averaged just 3.6 yards per snap.

Seemingly struggling to find answers all afternoon long, head coach Mark Dantonio addressed the media postgame. Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press shared some of Dantonio’s comments on Twitter:

Dantonio says MSU played three of the better teams defensively in the nation the past three games. "They're tough to score on," he says of Penn State.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 26, 2019

Dantonio says message to team going into bye week: "You gotta play better. You can't beat yourself."

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 26, 2019

Recollect, stay positive, Dantonio says again. "You can't abandon ship right now. That does not work.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) October 26, 2019

Completing 16-34 passes for 165 yards and an interception, redshirt senior Brian Lewerke was replaced by redshirt sophomore Rocky Lombardi early in the fourth quarter. Connecting on just one of his five attempts for five yards and another interception, Lombardi’s struggles led to the brief debut of redshirt freshman Theo Day.

Toting the rock 17 times, redshirt freshman Elijah Collins was Michigan State’s leading rushing with 53 yards. Junior tight end Matt Dotson and freshman wideout Tre Mosley tied for the team lead with 37 receiving yards.

Idle on November 2 – their second off date in a three-week span – the Spartans will look to get back on track vs. Illinois (4-4) on November 9.