SPARTAN COACHING STAFF MARK DANTONIO HEAD COACH FIFTH SEASON
In just five seasons, Mark Dantonio has restored the pride and tradition of Spartan football. A Zanesville, Ohio, native with Midwest ties, Dantonio has led Michigan State to a school-record five consecutive bowl appearances and back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. The Spartans have won 24 Big Ten games the past four seasons, the most of any team in the conference, and claimed a share of the Big Ten Championship in 2010. Dantonio has 31 years of collegiate coaching experience and will be coaching in his 16th bowl game as the Spartans face No. 18 Georgia in the 2012 Outback Bowl. It will mark Dantonio’s third New Year’s Day game as a head coach, as he guided MSU to appearances in the 2009 Capital One Bowl against Georgia and the 2011 Capital One Bowl against Alabama. Dantonio owns a 43-22 record (.662) at Michigan State, which marks the most wins by a Spartan head coach in his first five seasons. He has won at least nine games in a season three times (9 in 2008, school-record 11 in 2010, 10 in 2011), tying him with the most seasons of at least nine wins of any coach in program history; he is also the first Spartan coach to accomplish that feat within his first five years. MSU has won 21 of its last 26 games, dating back to the beginning of the 2010 season; the 21 wins are the highest two-year total in school history. In addition, the Spartans have been ranked in the USA TODAY Poll for 28 straight weeks, the longest streak for the program since the national newspaper began administering the poll in 1991. MSU also has been ranked in the Bowl Championship Series standings for a school-record 16 consecutive weeks. Michigan State won the 2011 Big Ten Legends Division title outright with a 7-1 conference record, improving to a league-best 14-2 in Big Ten play the past two seasons. The Spartans came up just short of their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1988, falling to Wisconsin, 42-39, in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. Michigan State defeated five-bowl bound teams, including a victory over the Badgers earlier in the season on Oct. 22 in Spartan Stadium, 37-31, on a lastsecond, 44-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Keith Nichol. MSU also beat No. 11 Michigan for the fourth-straight year on Oct. 15 in Spartan Stadium, 28-14, a first for the program since 1959-62. Other landmark victories included a 10-7 win at Ohio State on Oct. 1, MSU’s first win in Ohio Stadium since 1998, and a 37-21 victory at Iowa on Nov. 12, the Spartans’ first triumph in Kinnick Stadium since 1989. The Spartans claimed the Legends Division outright with a 31-17 victory at Northwestern on Nov. 26 and closed the regular season with a 4-0 record in November. Under Dantonio, MSU has compiled a 13-3 record in the month of November, including seven straight wins. Michigan State also went a perfect 7-0 at home for the second straight year, posting back-to-back perfect home seasons for the first time since 1955-56, and extended its home winning streak to 14 games.
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Known as one of the top defensive minds in the country, Dantonio and his staff assembled the No. 1 defense in the Big Ten this season, as the Spartans led the conference in rushing defense (104.3 yards per game), total defense (272.7 ypg.), sacks (41), interceptions (16) and third-down defense (.337) through the regular season. In addition, the Spartans rank among the NCAA FBS Top 25 in seven statistical categories, including fourth in sacks, fifth in total defense, ninth in scoring defense (17.5 ppg.) and 10th in pass efficiency defense (110.4 rating). On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Kirk Cousins and B.J. Cunningham have re-written the Michigan State record book. Cousins, the winningest quarterback in school history, is MSU’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (65) and completions (696) and currently ranks first in completion percentage (.646) and passing efficiency (148.3 rating). He has also set a single-season MSU record with 24 passing TDs in 2011. Cousins’ favorite target is Cunningham, who is Michigan State’s career leader in both receptions (211) and receiving yards (3,020) and has set a school record with eight 100-yard receiving games this season. The Spartans were rewarded for their excellent regular season as 19 players received All-Big Ten recognition on the first team, second team or honorable mention, including a school-record 11 on defense. The Spartans had four first-team All-Big Ten selections: cornerback Johnny Adams (coaches), offensive guard Joel Foreman (coaches and media), safety Trenton Robinson (media) and defensive tackle Jerel Worthy (coaches and media). Worthy also earned consensus first-team All-America honors, marking the fourth-straight year Michigan State has had a consensus first-team All-American (Javon Ringer: 2008; Greg Jones: 2009, 2010), which is a school record.
From his first day on the job, Dantonio has pledged to support student-athletes as they pursue excellence, both in the classroom and on the playing field. In his first five seasons, 67 players have earned their undergraduate degrees. In addition, his players have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors 56 times, including 2009 Academic All-American Blair White (first team) and 2011 Academic All-American Mike Sadler (second team). Dantonio, who led Michigan State to a school-record 11 wins in 2010 and a share of its first Big Ten Championship since 1990, was named the Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year, as selected by the conference’s media panel. A finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant, Eddie Robinson and Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Awards, Dantonio helped manage the third-biggest turnaround among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams during the regular season, as the Spartans improved from 6-7 in 2009 to 11-1 in 2010. He was also named the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Region 3 Coach of the Year, and earned National Coach of the Year honors from CBSSports.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com. Thanks to its 28-22 victory at Penn State in the regularseason finale, Michigan State recorded its first win in State College since 1965 and finished in a tie with Wisconsin for the 2010 Big Ten Championship. With successive wins over Minnesota, Purdue and Penn State to close out the regular season, the Spartans posted a perfect 3-0 record in November for the first time since 1999. MSU also dealt Wisconsin its only loss of the 2010 regular season, 34-24, in the Big Ten opener. The Spartans finished the season ranked No. 14 in both The Associated Press and USA TODAY/Coaches’ Polls, giving MSU its highest finish in the final polls since 1999. It also marked MSU’s second finish in the Top 25 in the past three years (No. 24 in 2008).
2012 OUTBACK BOWL • MICHIGAN STATE VS. GEORGIA