Michigan State was one of three B1G East teams that James Franklin accused of negatively recruiting against Penn State.

The Lions coach claimed that he had to do damage control with recruits because of what teams like MSU were saying about possible Jerry Sandusky/Joe Paterno-related sanctions following the recent developments.

But that was news to Mark Dantonio.

The accusation apparently caught him off guard.

“I have not said anything negative about Penn State and I hope our coaches haven’t, as well,” Dantonio said. “I was surprised when I read that. That’s not our MO, that’s not how we do business.”

RELATED: James Franklin claims B1G East teams are negatively recruiting against Penn State

That’s not a surprise to hear from Dantonio, who doesn’t come off as a guy who would throw a team under the bus. And even if he did, he certainly doesn’t come off as the guy who would admit to such a thing.

Franklin maintained his stance on Monday that there has been negative recruiting against his program. He said that he realizes that every program deals with it, but that “there’s a line that you don’t cross.”

Urban Meyer was also asked about that, but it was apparently the first time he had heard the accusation. Meyer denied that OSU has ever done such a thing and said that if Franklin did say that, he’d have to talk to him about the “strong allegation.”

For now, it’s all one man’s word against another.