Michigan State Football: 5 takeaways from mammoth upset of Penn State
1. Despite post-Northwestern doubt, Mark Dantonio is still elite
Who else would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the locker room following the Spartans’ disappointing loss to Northwestern in East Lansing? Mark Dantonio had to have either ripped into his guys, which is not his style, or he gave them an inspiring talk about how this wouldn’t be the end of the season, rather just another speed-bump.
Must Read: MSU football: 5 bold predictions for October 2018
Chemistry issues were the topic of conversation in the media, but the players, namely Joe Bachie, shot those rumors down and stated that his players-only meeting was all positive.
The team responded like all Dantonio-coached teams do, beating Penn State in Happy Valley in a game it had no business being in, let alone winning.
Dantonio took a team that was down on itself after a Northwestern loss, called a players-only meeting, was told all week that it had no shot to beat Penn State and that its season was over and was down Jalen Nailor, Cody White, Josiah Scott, David Beedle, Kevin Jarvis, Darrell Stewart Jr. and LJ Scott on the road and knocked off No. 8 Penn State.
Think about that for a second.
Has it set in yet? Yeah, Dantonio is a magician. People were calling for his head a week ago — or at least begging him to fire Dave Warner — and he responded by pulling off a very Dantonio-esque upset.
Top 25 MSU football players of Mark Dantonio era. dark. Next
Thought the season was over? You played right into what Dantonio wanted.