Drew Sharp

Detroit Free Press Columnist

EAST LANSING – Mark Dantonio was right.

It CAN get worse.

Still searching for rock bottom, Michigan State plunged a few depths lower today, further wallowing into the abyss of self-pity. The Spartans tried a new quarterback, but still had the same issues with poor interior line performance, a defensive secondary with more leaks than a colander and a senior class that simply isn’t up to the challenge of its predecessors.

Can everyone stop with the nonsense that something’s salvageable with this season?

It’s over. It’s done. It was done two weeks ago. Wipe your eyes. Blow your nose.

While there remains nobility in fighting the futile battle because of the educational merits of adversity, there’s also a realistic point of diminishing value in a season that’s already fallen far past disappointing. After the Spartans’ 54-40 loss to Northwestern – giving Dantonio his first four-game losing streak as a head coach – their season has free fallen toward disastrous.

“This is something that we’re not used to here,” senior middle linebacker Riley Bullough said. “It’s tough to deal with. This is a program that’s accustomed to winning. But we’re not getting it done.”

When asked to pinpoint the most serious cause for this season wildly careening off the tracks over the past month, Bullough didn’t single out a particular culprit.

“It’s everything,” he said. “It’s everybody. We’re not getting it done.”

The Spartans can’t run, can’t pass, can’t block, can’t tackle and can’t get off the field defensively on third down.

They can’t win another game playing like that.

“It’s hard believing that we gave up 54 points at home,” senior defensive back Demetrious Cox said. “We take pride in our defense, but we’re not executing the way we’re supposed to do. It’s disappointing because we know that we can play better than what we have. All we can do is keep working to climb our way out of this hole.”

Enemies of the past eight years will take out their vengeance on the Spartans currently curled up in the fetal position. And there’s little they can do about it.

But this can become a one-year aberration.

But that’s solely up to Dantonio.

Dantonio should have a serious discussion with his coaching mentor, Nick Saban. If not for Saban, Dantonio doesn’t rocket up to the top of the list of the three-person Michigan State football coaching search committee 10 years ago. But Saban’s also the correct example of a successful head coach who doesn’t let stubbornness overrule his common sense.

Saban hired Lane Kiffin as offensive coordinator three years ago because he knew that — if he didn’t adapt to more spread, empty backfield, offensive formations — Alabama couldn’t keep its competitive edge over the rest of the SEC as well as the rest of the country. Saban wasn’t necessarily a big fan of Kiffin’s often-prickly personality. And Saban never has been an offensive risk-taker.

But Saban was smart enough to know that programs that don’t constantly evolve get left behind.

Michigan State is at that crossroads.

“We need to be honest with ourselves,” Dantonio said.

But that starts with Dantonio being honest with himself.

In the absence of former defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, there isn’t another assistant coach on the current staff secure enough in his job status to confront Dantonio, challenging him if he thinks certain schematic changes are necessary.

The Spartans’ better players are their youngsters on both sides of the ball. That’s a testament to Dantonio’s improved recruiting the past three years — at least if you believe the hyperbole of the recruiting rankings. The overall quality of talent from top to bottom in this program has improved. But it risks being wasted in 2017 and beyond unless Dantonio surrounds himself with offensive and defensive coordinators who can best utilize the upgraded athleticism among the freshmen and sophomores.

This senior class for Michigan State is awful. Sorry, but it’s the truth. Northwestern regularly picked on Cox. The Wildcats’ biggest pass plays came on Cox’s side of the field. They converted on better than half of their third-down conversions. When they needed a first down, they looked to where Cox was on the field and targeted him.

He’s a good kid. He was voted co-captain. He has worked hard. But he’s one of the many veteran liabilities exposed over this four-game slide.

Dantonio assures everyone that he’ll fix what’s troubling his program. Nobody doubts he can. But that first requires a proper diagnosis of the problem.

Contact Drew Sharp: dsharp@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewsharp. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/drew-sharp/. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!