Michigan Wolverines football (8-2, 5-2) took down the Michigan State Spartans Saturday afternoon at Michigan Stadium, by a score of 44-10. The Wolverines flexed their muscles after being down 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio reacted to the blowout loss at the hands of the Wolverines. With this loss, he falls to 2-3 against U-M head man Jim Harbaugh.
RELATED: Videos: U-M Players Fired Up After The Blowout, Harbaugh Pleased As Well
The Spartans were up 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, but it was downhill from there. U-M pulled away and stomped on them late. With MSU only having four wins coming into Saturday's game, a win over its top rival could have help take the sour taste from weeks past out of the mouth. It was not to be.
"Obviously, we came to Michigan to play and it’s a big game for us," Dantonio said. "We approached it that way and we always will approach it that way. We hung in there initially. I think the third quarter hurt us with the first interception and then the blocked punt sort of turned it. We had a very ugly fourth quarter."
Once the Wolverines kicked it into gear, they were ultimately too much for MSU. U-M put up 467 yards of total offense and held MSU to just 220.
"Credit Michigan," Dantonio said. "They played extremely well on defense and offense. I talked about them having shock. We had to come out and play with that same type of shock and explosiveness. They got after the quarterback, pressured the quarterback. We were not able to run the ball well enough at all. I thought we hung in there a little bit there and went forward.
"Defensively, we have to stay on our feet and play the bubble screens, the RPOs. Too many third down opportunities where we have the opportunity to get off the field that we do not. Credit to them and some discredit to us in terms of coverage played or whatever."
Dantonio said the bottom line was MSU didn't capitalize on its opportunities like U-M did. He noted how crucial the Spartans' inability to make the most of third downs was. MSU's offense converted on only 2 of its 13 third-downs.
"When you look at the game, they got 13 first downs. We got 13 opportunities to get off the field, they got 13 opportunities to get off the field. They were 8-for-13, which is far too much. We have to get them off the field on third down. You got to play situational football. You have to understand the situations."
The Spartans committed 7 penalties, including a number of personal fouls and unnecessary roughness, which includes the dirty late hit from junior defensive end Jacub Panisiuk on U-M senior quarterback Shea Patterson.
"[I'm] disappointed in those because we talk about keeping our composure," Dantonio said. "I think the game was called close by the referees due to everything that goes on in this game. I’m not sure until I see the film."
44-10 is the largest margin of victory in the rivalry since U-M defeated MSU 49-3 back in 2002, well before Dantonio arrived. This is the worst loss against U-M for Dantonio, by far, in the game that means the most for the Spartans.
"We work on this game all year long to some degree," Dantonio said. "It’s an important game but after it’s done, you must let things go and move to the next challenge. That’s what we’ve done in the past and that’s what we’ll continue to do. You have to be able to do that."
MSU finishes the season with Rutgers and Maryland, and must win both if it wants to advance to a third straight bowl game appearance.
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