COLUMBUS, Ohio — Not long ago, Mark Dantonio was the coach up north who could legitimately lay claim to the title of Ohio State football nemesis. Michigan State ruined the Buckeyes’ playoff hopes in the 2013 Big Ten championship game. It came to Ohio Stadium two years later and spoiled another chance for a national championship. Then it very nearly did the same thing again in 2016 in East Lansing, when even a three-win Spartans team seemed to have some magical hold over Ohio State. What Dantonio accomplished from 2013-15 stands up alongside similar recent runs in Ohio State history: A 36-5 record, two Big Ten championships and a College Football Playoff semifinal berth. The Spartans finished third, fifth and sixth in the final Associated Press poll, peaking at No. 2 in the final year. Yet that level could not be sustained, and Dantonio announced his retirement Tuesday in what…
Continue Reading: Can Michigan State football again rise as Ohio State’s nemesis after Mark Dantonio’s retirement?
