Mark Dantonio’s team slogan two years ago, when Michigan State won the Rose Bowl, was “Chase It.” Last season, he asked his team to “Reach Higher,” and the Spartans did so by making it to the College Football Playoff and winning a conference championship. This year, his stated objective is even more on the nose: “Back 2 Back.”
The Spartans are shooting for another conference title in 2016 with a lot of names that won’t be familiar to those outside East Lansing. Connor Cook, winner of 35 games in three years as Michigan State’s quarterback, is gone, and his longtime understudy, Tyler O’Connor, will have to lead a young offense through a couple tough nonconference games and one of the nation’s toughest divisions.