Iowa housed Ohio State last weekend in Kinnick, while Michigan State upset Penn State in East Lansing.
Yet this week, ahead of Michigan State's trip to Columbus, oddsmakers opened with Ohio State as a 15½-point favorite. That line has already been bet to 16 points.
Only one point separates the programs in their last five games. Asked about it Tuesday, Dantonio seemed more than fine with the underdog role.
"It's gone to 16, huh?"
[...]
"I don't worry about [getting the respect we deserve] Shoot, I saw [ Lansing State Journal columnist] Graham [Couch] had and article about the playoffs, and I was like, 'Wow, we've come a ways.'
"I really think that's for other people. I watch film, and I watch our players. I know we need to get better, and we need to do some things better on the field. I also watch film to see how other people are playing, and we devise a plan to attack those things and be confident in what we're doing and make sure we play hard. And that's what we'll try to do.
"I didn't know the spread, but there you go. We'll just have to roll the dice."
Dantonio obviously offered boilerplate—claiming not to know the spread after knowing it went up to 16—but there's no denying he built a program centered on the culture of disrespect.
More telling, however, was his micro-expression after finding the line had moved further against his team:
That's the look of an ancient warlock capable of conjuring a hailstorm on a moment's notice. Oddsmakers should consider themselves warned.
[Video by @MichiganStateOnBTN]
