Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio looked lost in his first game last week. Not actually in the game, but on the pregame walk to the stadium before a 55-18 victory against Alabama-Birmingham.
Unbeknownst to his players, Dantonio changed the route the team takes in its march to Spartan Stadium. While his players thought he was confused, Dantonio had reached into the school's past and took the path used by longtime coach Hugh (Duffy) Daugherty, the one that passes by the Sparty statue. Dantonio also adopted another Daugherty tradition and had his players flick pennies at Sparty.
"I thought, you know what, I'm going to flick a penny," Dantonio said.
Coincidence or not, Michigan State played a clean, crisp game. After leading the Big Ten in penalties last season, the Spartans committed only four in the opener, perhaps a small sign that Dantonio might bring some discipline to that program.
"There are consequences for every penalty [in practice] just like there is in a game," he said. "When there's a penalty everyone suffers, not just the person who committed it. We paid a price for those after practice."
A minor miracle
Kirk Ferentz will coach his 100th game at Iowa on Saturday against Syracuse.
"That might qualify as a miracle, especially if you ask the average person on the street nine years ago," Ferentz said. "I think the odds would have been pretty much against it."
The Hawkeyes finished 1-10 in his first season, 3-9 in the second. Now in his ninth season, Ferentz has a 56-43 record.
Did you hear?
Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said he was standing next to an official during a TV timeout late in his team's game against Washington State when he learned that Michigan had lost to Appalachian State.
"[The official] was looking at the scoreboard," Bielema said. "He said, 'Well, Appalachian State got them.' I went, 'What?' I probably found out from a way that no one else would have thought of."
Extra point
• Purdue's Dorien Bryant will give teams more reason to be concerned now that he is returning punts, too. Bryant returned punts as a freshman but stopped doing it the past two seasons. He earned Big Ten special teams player of the week honors after returning two kickoffs 151 yards, including a 91-yard touchdown, and one punt for 16 yards against Toledo.
Chip Scoggins • ascoggins@startribune.com
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