Couch: Dantonio’s first legacy remains U-M rivalry

EAST LANSING – The prevailing assumption this week was that Mark Dantonio didn’t enjoy his Tuesday press conference.

I disagree.

He may have been admittedly calculated and careful. But not uncomfortable.

Michigan State vs. Michigan is Dantonio’s game. Before the Rose Bowl, this was his legacy — remarkably flipping the script on 40 years of one-sided history in a venomous rivalry.

He did so with bold predictions and promises and then wins, followed by reminders — understanding the needs of a fan base and university tired of feeling like less.

“The head football coach of Michigan State represents a lot of people on this edge of the spectrum,” said Dantonio, 5-2 against the Wolverines. “So on this edge of the spectrum I’m going to fulfill what everybody expects of me.”

He changed the tone of the rivalry. And while this isn’t the time to bask in his achievement, he can rest his tongue.

Dantonio’s program has backed him up on the field, last season’s 29-6 obliteration the moment that shifted minds — he hadn’t just beaten the Wolverines, he’d overtaken them. Thirty losses in 38 years ceased to be the identity of MSU’s side of this rivalry as of Nov. 2, 2013.

The questions for Dantonio about Michigan these days are less logistical than they are philosophical. It’s no longer about how he plans to slay Goliath. That’s been done. Meanwhile David grew up into a behemoth himself. Instead, Dantonio is asked why he feels as he does.

“Why is it so personal? It gets in your blood,” Dantonio said. “There are just things that happen, things that happen over the course of time that just, you know, begin to set you on edge.

“I guess sometimes in an emotional state people have a tendency to tell you exactly what they feel.”

Dantonio was a Notre Dame fan as a child. His greatest professional successes later occurred at Ohio State and MSU. In other words, life set him up to be a natural enemy of U-M.

So he gets the people of MSU. He is the perfect coach for their football program — both where it was and where it is now. He’s humble enough to handle this.

Nationally, last season’s Big Ten championship win against the Buckeyes and subsequent Rose Bowl victory over Stanford did a ton for how folks outside of this state view MSU.

But inside The Mitten, the existing respect for Dantonio’s Spartans is tied to the evolution of their rivalry with Michigan.

And despite five wins in the past six seasons, the last two years have been most telling, beginning with MSU’s 12-10 defeat in Ann Arbor in 2012. The collective exhale and celebration in the Big House that day was reminiscent of Indiana fans storming the basketball court after beating the No. 1-ranked Spartans in 2001. The Wolverines’ reaction was the ultimate sign of respect, and of their changed perspective.

MSU fans are having fun right now with an ironic quote from March of 2013, courtesy of then-heralded recruit Drake Harris, now a freshman at Michigan. Harris had decommitted from MSU, saying, “Since I’m just playing football now, I want to play at a bigger school, win a national championship.”

The Spartans were coming off a 7-6 season and most teenagers have the attention span and world view of a gnat, so Harris should be given a break.

It does, however, speak to how recently MSU took over the mantle in the minds of many Michiganders.

And it speaks to why Dantonio may not yet be able to enjoy this week as much he should.

He owns his rival right now. And he’s smart not to be comfortable enough to say it.