Dantonio pleased as MSU offense wins scrimmage
East Lansing — Michigan State capped off its second week of preseason camp on Friday night with coach Mark Dantonio feeling confident about the direction his team is heading.
The offense defeated the defense, 39-33, in a modified scoring system that lasted 141 plays and was played under the lights at Spartan Stadium.
“There was a lot of excitement out there tonight,” Dantonio said. “I thought we played very well. We got the game to overtime, so that’s always good. I thought we did a lot of good things. There’s a lot of emotion and a lot of energy on our football team right now. (There’s) a lot of guys running and making plays, so it was exciting to watch tonight.”
Big Ten officials were used for the scrimmage as Dantonio said one of the main focuses of the scrimmage was to play without mistakes.
“You’re always trying to eliminate unforced penalties; offsides, holding, things of that nature,” Dantonio said. “(We’re) trying to eliminate those, along with turnovers that are unforced, those type of things, and we were able to do that. I thought our guys were sharp. On defense, can you stay on your feet and run and tackle in space, and I thought we did that tonight.”
Michigan State did not release any statistics as several positions were looking to solidify the depth chart heading into the final week of camp. The defense won the first scrimmage last week.
“We’ll look at the film and make some decisions as we continue to go, but I thought (the scrimmage) was productive and had a lot of energy, and that’s what I always look for,” Dantonio said. “We’ve been going three weeks now. We’ll take it easy (Saturday) a little bit and give them Sunday off, and then we have four days more before we break camp. I like what I see, we just have to keep rolling.”
Camp will break after Thursday’s practice before the Spartans return next Sunday to begin game prep for the season opener Sept. 2 against Bowling Green.
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