I do not believe there is definitive analytic information about whether Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio possesses a sense of humor. Dantonio is a Nick Saban disciple, a stern tactician who often makes his mentor look like Jimmy Fallon by comparison; Dantonio’s perpetual dyspeptic scowl is the look of a man who would prefer to live in a hermetically sealed chamber with access to nothing but the following week’s game film and a pack of sugarless gum. In other words, Dantonio is a classical Big Ten coach who has embraced and perfected classical football in the way no other Big Ten program has in this era. And that’s not something I’m not sure can be said about Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. Read More: Amateur Athletic Programs Don’t Pay Coaches $15 Million To Not Coach That, to me, was the ironic bent regarding the criticism of Ohio State’s game plan after Michigan State’s 17-14 defeat of the Buckeyes, by running back Ezekiel Elliott and others: The consensus appeared to be that Ohio State played too close to the vest. Even Meyer admitted this; Meyer said specifically that the play-calling was “very conservative.” And to a certain extent, that’s probably true; as SB Nation’s Ian Boyd noted, a few deep passes might have been enough to break open the Michigan State defense. Whatever Dantonio said to Maryland coach Mike Locksley probably wasn’t funny. Photo by Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports But I wonder if part of the underlying problem is not just that Ohio State played too conservatively, given the perfect storm unfolding around them. I wonder if part of the problem is also the same thing that’s allowed Meyer to dominate the Big Ten since he arrived: That the Buckeyes aren’t constructed like a traditional Big Ten team, because Meyer doesn’t want to play that way. For several years now, that’s worked to their advantage; for several years now, the overarching notion has been that Meyer would liberalize the Big Ten with speed and offensive versatility. Last year, Ohio State led the conference with nearly 45 points per game. This year, the Buckeyes are down to 34.4 points per game…
Continue Reading: Will Shunning Big 10 Classicism Hurt Ohio State?
