Fact or Fiction: Michigan State needs to move on from Mark Dantonio
National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney tackle three topics daily and determine whether they believe the statements or not.
MORE FACT OR FICTION: Baylor is a top five team
1. Alabama would go undefeated with Clemson's schedule.
Farrell’s take: FACT. A lot of people have been harping on this so I thought it would be a good topic to address. People complain a lot about Alabama's non-conference schedule, but the defense is always the difficult SEC slate the Crimson Tide has to navigate as well. If they were in the ACC Atlantic, they would go undefeated every season because Florida State is just not a good football program now. But Clemson can only play the schedule it has, and the Tigers have had to face Texas A&M, Auburn and Notre Dame out of conference since 2015 and they do play South Carolina from the SEC as well. Schedules are made years in advance and Clemson can't control how good or bad its opponents are. But the bottom line is that Alabama would roll through Clemson's schedule with ease just like the Tigers do.
Gorney’s take: FACT. Are you kidding me? Of course, Alabama would go undefeated playing that schedule and the Crimson Tide’s second string at every position would probably beat everybody on that schedule as well. I’m not kidding. Alabama’s backups would be competitive in the ACC Atlantic and would probably win the division and then obliterate whichever average team wins the Coastal.
I understand schedules are done years in advance but Clemson knows what it’s getting out of Charlotte and Wofford this year or Furman and Georgia Southern last year or Kent State and The Citadel the year before that. I don’t blame Clemson - an undefeated Tigers team gets in the playoff - but let’s be honest: The schedule is a cakewalk.
2. Derrick Brown could be as good as or better than Chase Young in the NFL.
Farrell’s take: FACT. Listen to me and listen closely. Chase Young is a freak and will be an amazing NFL player with a level of among the elite. But Derrick Brown is no joke at all and will be a top-10 pick that will change some lucky franchise's defense. Not only does he push the pocket and stuff the run, but he's agile enough to chase and pursue running backs and quarterbacks from sideline to sideline. And Brown has a motor that never stops. He can have a similar impact as Young, which is difficult because he's an inside lineman.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I respect Brown and I agree he can be an important piece to the interior defensive line of a team and he could easily be a top-10 pick. He’s extra special and he’s been great at Auburn.
But just think about this for a second: Young has more sacks this season, even when missing a game, than Brown has in his entire career (13.5 to 12.5). Over his career, Young has 27.5 sacks and he’s not even close to done this season. Young is incredible, one of the best defensive players in recent memory, and that should not be forgotten.
3. Michigan State needs a new start with a new coach.
Farrell’s take: FACT. I think it's time. Mark Dantonio has done a great job at Michigan State but things just aren't going well and a younger, more energetic coach needs to take over the program and make a dent in that division.
The Spartans were 3-9 in 2016 and just awful, but rebounded in 2017 by going 10-3 with a big bowl win. However, 2018 was a struggle again as they finished 7-6 with a couple of bad losses in there. Now they are 4-5 with losses to an average Arizona State team and a bad Illinois team. With Michigan, Rutgers and Maryland left on the schedule, Michigan State should finish 6-6 and go to a bad bowl game, but the program's inconsistency has been maddening.
And off the field it seems as if it's one thing after another over the last couple of years. Time for a reboot even if the Spartans do make a bowl this year.
Gorney’s take: FICTION. I appreciate all of Farrell’s points and I don’t necessarily disagree, but no one knows this program better and so I’m leaning toward no one knows how to fix it better - or faster - than Dantonio.
Is he a grumpy, grouchy, curmudgeon that might not resonate with elite recruits? Sure. But Michigan State has always found under-the-radar talent and guys who have a lot of fire to prove doubters wrong and that hasn’t been as successful recently. The Spartans have actually done better than Michigan through the Rivals era recruiting top talent in the state and Dantonio is responsible for a lot of that.
Things are not good now in East Lansing but firing Dantonio right now I don’t believe is the right move yet.