No. 6 Michigan St Welcomes Bye Before Key Games
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Mark Dantonio's team can't win a football game this weekend. But Michigan State can do everything else.
The sixth-ranked Spartans (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will use its bye week to get healthier and gear up for a high-stakes stretch run, including games at Nebraska on Nov. 7 and at No. 1 Ohio State two weeks later.
"We've been going since August with no bye and no down time," Dantonio said Monday. "I just think that after eight games, we've done what we needed to do."
With that in mind, Michigan State won't practice this week. The Spartans will be running and lifting, a much safer routine than they have had with competitive practices and close games.
"It's not like our guys won't be working," Dantonio said. "They'll be working a couple of hours a day. But the pounding and the hitting will be nonexistent this week. We're going to make it into next week without a guy getting a shoulder (injury) or something — unless a guy drops a weight on his foot or something, which has happened."
Dantonio often relies on a player advisory board, the Eagles Council, but made an executive decision this time. After Saturday's 52-26 win over Indiana, the Spartans responded enthusiastically.
The last time Michigan State was perfect at this point was in 2010. But with no break until mid-November, the Spartans lost 37-6 at Iowa in their ninth game and had to settle for a share of the conference crown in an 11-2 season.
Dantonio can't do anything about the timing of his bye week. But at the two-thirds mark of the regular season, it seems to be coming at the perfect time.
Michigan State has dealt with more injuries to key players this season that it has had in some three-year spans, especially in the secondary and on the offensive line, where starters and backups have been hurt in bunches.
"It's not perfect, but we are 8-0 right now," Dantonio said. "We need to heal up. We need to get fresh. We don't need to look forward to a grind. We need to look forward to the next opportunity."
The week offers opportunities for the coaching staff, too. While the players are encouraged to go home for the weekend, Dantonio and his aides will be watching games, especially the Nebraska-Purdue matchup and other teams the Spartans will face in November.
"I hope we're going to get our sleep," Dantonio said of his players. "And I'd like for them to go home this week if they can and maybe see a high school game."
Michigan State's assistants will be in high schools recruiting the rest of the week.
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