A few weeks ago, when Michigan State headed to Penn State and everyone assumed the Spartans would lose, coach Mark Dantonio handed his players a poker chip.
He wanted it to signify that his team was all in and they were “putting their chips on the table.” It was a coaching ploy that worked as Michigan State won that day and rekindled some momentum a week after losing at home to Northwestern.
Several weeks later, Dantonio went to his bag of tricks once again as Michigan State headed to Maryland, handing each of his players a Payday candy bar.