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Mark Dantonio: I do not think we have played our best football game yet
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Michigan State is 6-1 on the season, a perfect 4-0 in conference play and recorded an impressive road win over in-state rival Michigan. Despite all that, Mark Dantonio isn’t satisfied with the way his team has played through the first half of the season.
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Dantonio was asked about the early success of his team, despite the offensive struggles. The Spartans head coach was complimentary of his defense and fully understands that the offense needs to step up in the coming weeks to compete with the likes of Northwestern, Penn State and Ohio State.
But he also made it clear that, despite some of the praise his team has received for its 6-1 start and impressive defensive effort, Michigan State is capable of doing a lot more this season.
“I do not think we have played our best football game yet as a team,” Dantonio said. “Brian Lewerke hasn’t been on fully. We’ve not run the ball fully. We’ve not gotten through a game where everything is going right for us.
“We need to have on of those football games here in the second half of the season.”
Michigan State’s offensive struggles have been no mystery. The Spartans rank 12th in scoring offense in the B1G, averaging 22.7 points per game on the year. In three of the four B1G games, MSU has been held to less than 20 points.
So far, it’s not cost the Spartans a league game. But again, with Ohio State and Penn State on the schedule, finding a way to cross the goal line will be essential.
This week the Spartans travel to Evanston to battle Northwestern. That game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB