EAST LANSING — Maverick Hansen approached his fellow Michigan State football captains Sunday. They agreed.
Saturday’s loss to Michigan proved a pivotal moment for a players-only meeting.
“We just had to talk about things that aren’t going so well with the team right now,” quarterback Aidan Chiles said Tuesday. “We gotta figure things out.”
In reality, every day after practice in the locker room is solace for a team away from coaches. So whenever word of a players-only gathering emerges, a knee-jerk reaction is to think the worst.
Yet there are two types of players meetings: The more serious ones often address discord within the team. These Spartans do not appear to be dealing with those issues.
The second reason is to maintain focus and prevent a fracture in advance. And Hansen’s call to his teammates represented a moment where MSU understands its 24-17 loss to the Wolverines — with yet another physical confrontation following their emotional rivalry game — does not define this team.
Hansen is a sixth-year senior who bridges the gap between the Mark Dantonio era of expected success through the tumultuous highs and lows under Mel Tucker to now being a vital voice for new coach Jonathan Smith. Hansen has experienced the old Dantonio aphorism: November is a season unto itself. And four games remain to get the Spartans where they want to be in Smith’s first year.
This month becomes a playoff chase for MSU (4-4, 2-3 Big Ten). Not for a spot in the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff, though that was never the expectation. A road loss at Boston College began a three-game losing streak to end any far-fetched dreams, and included blowout defeats to Oregon and Ohio State.
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What Hansen’s meeting represents is an understanding of where this program is, missing bowls in three of the past four seasons. Needing to once again taste the postseason to reassure players and fans that the new coaching staff’s direction has the Spartans pointed toward a time when Dantonio led them to consistency unmatched in program history.
MSU went to 12 bowl games in Dantonio’s 13 seasons, with only two losing records in 2009 and 2016. The peak — three Big Ten titles in six seasons, a CFP appearance — remains the ultimate goal for Smith, but the building blocks of Dantonio’s early years established the groundwork needed to reach those heights.
There is no 2010 conference championship without getting to the Champs Sports Bowl in 2007. There is no Rose Bowl victory without the Outback Bowl win two years prior. There is no 2015 CFP berth without a run to the Cotton Bowl on the same field 364 days prior.
For Smith and his players, there is no bowl trip without two more wins in their final four games. And the stretch run begins Saturday with another daunting task, a visit from unbeaten and red-hot No. 13 Indiana (3:30 p.m., Peacock).
“As always, we’re focused on Indiana obviously this week,” tight end Jack Velling said Tuesday. “But it’s always about us and getting a win for ourselves and going out there and doing that. Everyone focused on their 1-of-11, which is our big thing. If we could go out there and win and ruin their season, that’s a good thing. But I think it’s more focused on ourselves and doing our part.”
MSU’s season has set up as a three-act arc, with the game against the Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0) the close of a second chapter. A second bye week follows, giving the Spartans another chance to reflect and correct before the final three-game stanza. How they finish will determine if there is a December encore.
That makes the timing of Hansen’s call for a meeting critical. In essence, Saturday becomes a one-game season for MSU. There cannot be any lingering effects from a close rivalry defeat or the altercation at the end of the game.
“That’s football, that’s a part of the game,” sophomore defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren said Wednesday. “That’s why we play this game. It builds your character. And I feel like we’re all at the point where we’re able to (go), ‘OK, we lost. We’re on to the next one.’ So what? Now what? The most important game is the next game, so that’s just our main focus.”
An ability to put the U-M game in the past also helped Dantonio define his program and proved a problem for Tucker. Dantonio’s 8-5 record against the Wolverines established a benchmark for MSU coaches to follow, but his 11-2 mark the following game might be even more impressive. Tucker became the first Spartans coach to defeat U-M in his first two tries, but MSU lost both times in the next game.
Dantonio’s ability to refocus in November played a major role in the success, with a 32-15 record to close out the regular season in his 13 years. MSU is 7-9 in the final month of the season the past four years.
To get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2021, the Spartans must win two more times. The schedule sets up favorably late, with a Nov. 16 trip to No. 24 Illinois (6-2, 3-2) followed by home games vs. Purdue (1-6, 0-4) and Rutgers (4-4, 1-4).
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Beating Indiana would go a long way toward easing some of the tension of the final three games, and would show Smith and his staff can retain the focus of their players they are seeking.
“We’ve talked about being process approached,” Smith said Monday. “However Saturday turns out, we’re gonna look at it on Sunday and move forward. I’m counting on this player led team to do that. …
“I look at our schedule, I do think it’s been tough. We’ve played some real teams. But I’m proud of our group as we continue to battle. I think we’ve gained confidence as the year’s gone on. We can go toe-to-toe with just about anybody. And now we want to play our best football in November.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State had message in players-only meeting after Michigan loss
