Piscataway, N.J. — Anguish and resolve seemed to merge in a single lane that day last November when Mark Dantonio found himself locked in thought on a drive down I-75, en route to Cincinnati.
Michigan State’s coach had been humiliated, along with his team, during an autumn of incomprehensible failure in East Lansing.
This was not to be believed, going from the national championship semifinals in January to a 3-9 catastrophe completed when Penn State laid a nightstick on the Spartans, 45-12, in MSU’s 2016 finale.
And it truly was MSU’s finale. No bowl ticket comes the way of a team that’s won three games.