isportsweb: Yet again, Michigan State football flying under radar

Furman at Michigan State 2016 Tight Cut

By Mike Sterner, Special to Detroit Free Press 1:38 a.m. EDT August 22, 2016

Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio talks to the crowd during a timeout in the Michigan State-Florida NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 58-52.(Photo: Al Goldis, Associated Press)

Mike Sterner is an MSU writer for the Michigan-based sports website isportsweb.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. Read isportsweb"s column every Monday. Follow Mike on Twitter @isportsMSU.

Entering his 10th year at the helm of the Michigan State football team, Mark Dantonio has indelibly marked the program with a blue-collar attitude; specifically, the belief that hard work, effort, team chemistry and buying into a program mean much more than star ratings and preseason rankings. It is a culture that teaches that everything needs to be earned with effort and production in the moment -- rather than a flashy potential that may pay off sometime in the future. This mentality has led to both conference and national success for the Spartans under coach Dantonio.

Early in Dantonios era, there was a doubt from outsiders that the Spartans would be able to compete with -- let alone defeat -- rival Michigan. Yet the Paul Bunyan trophy has resided in East Lansing in seven of the last eight seasons.

In addition, it was doubted that MSU would be competitive on both a Big Ten and a national level. Yet over Dantonios nine completed seasons, the Spartans have won three conference titles and have finished in the top 10 of major polls in four times. Also, MSU remains the only Big Ten school to defeat Urban Meyers Buckeyes during his four seasons as Ohio States head coach (having done so twice). During Dantonio"s tenure, Michigan State has also defeated the following nationally relevant programs: TCU, Georgia, Oregon, Baylor and Stanford.

Despite all this success and a proven track record, MSU is again facing doubts and flying under the radar as the 2016 season approaches. The Spartans are predicted to finish third in an admittedly stacked Big Ten East division this fall despite coming off of a Big Ten championship.

The Spartans need to replace one of their best quarterbacks of all time and will need to plug some gaps in the wide receivers unit, offensive lineand secondary. However, MSU"s main competition in the Big Ten East -- Ohio Stateand U-M -- also have similar hurdles to overcome.

This year, Michigan State has the advantage of playing both of those programs in Spartan Stadium.

You might think that the Spartans would be given an even chance to win these games at home, but that is not the case. The Spartans are underdogs in both of these games.

It seems clear that most analysts expect MSU to have a good season -- they are, after all, ranked No. 11 and No. 12 in the preseason polls -- yet finally take a step back and yield ground to the Buckeyes and the Wolverines. These preseason predictions have been a constant during Dantonio"s time at MSU. And, for the most part, Dantonio has excelled at surpassing the expectations that others have for the Spartans.

When MSU kicks off against Furman in less than two weeks, the Spartans will be flying under the radar once more in their quest for back-to-back Big Ten championships. And the success they"ve seen of late shows that"s just the way they like it.

Source: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2016/08/22/isportsweb-yet-again-michigan-state-football-flying-under-radar/89091226/