By Jim Naveau
Michigan State will induct its former football coach Mark Dantonio into its Ring of Honor at Saturday night’s game against Ohio State.
Dantonio is being honored by MSU for being the winningest coach in school history with 114 victories, taking the Spartans to their only appearance in the College Football Playoff and winning three Big Ten championships.
His legacy among Ohio State fans is more a mixture of good and bad memories. He was the defensive coordinator on OSU’s 2002 national championship team, for which he is fondly remembered.
But his 2013 and 2015 Michigan State teams kept Ohio State from playing for national championships.
In 2013, No. 10 Michigan State beat No. 2 OSU 34-24 in the Big Ten championship game. And in 2015, No. 3 Ohio State saw its chances of winning back-to-back national championships disappear after a 17-14 loss to the No. 9 Spartans late in the regular season.
The Spartans also crushed Ohio State’s dream of a national championship in 1998 when Nick Saban was their coach.
There are no indications Michigan State scheduled Dantonio’s induction as a good luck charm or a reminder of past wins over Ohio State. But the Spartans have needed a lot of help and haven’t had much luck against the Buckeyes recently.
OSU has won the last eight times it has played MSU. The last seven of those wins have been by an average of 30 points per game, including a 38-3 blowout last season.
No. 3 Ohio State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) is favored by 25 points over Michigan State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) this year.
Five things to watch on Saturday:
1. How will Ohio State react to an opponent that is a step or two above the level of its three non-conference opponents in its first Big Ten game of the season?
Nobody is picking Michigan State to win the Big Ten but OSU’s first three games were against a team picked to finish eleventh in the Mid-American Conference (Akron), a team predicted to finish seventh in the MAC (Western Michigan) and a team picked to finish fifth in the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference (Marshall).
2. Michigan State quarterback Aidan Chiles, the sophomore QB, who followed coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State, has great potential and is a dual threat. But he has nearly twice as many turnovers (7) as touchdown passes (4).
He threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in Michigan State’s most impressive win, 38-24 over Maryland. The Spartans probably need that kind of game from him to be competitive against Ohio State.
3. Ohio State’s offensive line against Michigan State’s defensive line and linebackers.
The Buckeyes’ offensive line, which was much criticized last season, has looked good so far this season. How will it perform against a Michigan State defense that has a Big Ten-leading 15 sacks?
4. How healthy will Michigan State be? The Spartans have dealt with injuries on their offensive line, including season-ending injuries for two starters, and several less serious injuries among its receivers.
5. Will Ohio State’s standout defensive tackle Tyleik Williams play or is the undisclosed injury that kept him out of last week’s 49-14 win over Marshall something more long-term?
Bonus thing to watch: Will Dantonio smile while joining the Ring of Honor? Former players insist he had a good sense of humor but his sideline demeanor tended to be more stoic and much more serious.
The prediction: Ohio State 35, Michigan State 10.
