Dantonio On Rivalry With Michigan: 'It Is As It Is'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio has never shied away from fanning the rivalry flames between Michigan State and Michigan, though since Dantonio arrived in East Lansing in 2007 the Spartans have dominated the Wolverines on the football field.
After last season concluded, Michigan fired Brady Hoke and hired former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh as its new leader. With Michigan's performance expected to improve under Harbaugh, it seems likely the school's rivalry with Michigan State will only intensify in coming years.
While Dantonio is quick to note the rivalry existed long before he arrived, he also hinted the Spartans still find motivation in the idea of besting the school whose supporters sometimes refer to Michigan State as the "little brother" of Michigan.
"It is as it is," Dantonio said Thursday in a Big Ten teleconference. "It always has been and always will be. It just didn't start today or a couple months ago. It's been an ongoing thing, and so we approach it like that daily."
Another reminder of the rivalry popped up Thursday, when the Spartan statue was vandalized with blue and yellow paint.
"I guess there's always little things that sort of get to you, one way or the other, either way," Dantonio said. "I usually say everybody's got a story, whether it was the Rose Bowl when we played there or whether it's talking about a rivalry game and a certain situation that went down. We all have our issues, I guess, to deal with. But as I said earlier, we didn't start this. This has been in existence for a long time. This didn't start when Mark Dantonio came to Michigan State. I felt it from the first time I was here, and I'm sure it's always been like that."
