Joe Rexrode

Detroit Free Press

EAST LANSING – He wasn't moving, but Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio performed a delicate dance when asked today to weigh in on

the state's most embattled sports figure

: Michigan football coach Brady Hoke.

Dantonio was asked whether he had any "sympathy" for the coach of his foremost rival, a man Dantonio openly respects.

"I think, first of all, coaching college football at this level is a very, very difficult job," Dantonio said. "There's a lot of criticism. I guess there's a lot of fanfare, plus and negative. I think, basically what I'm trying to say is, I don't think there's a bad football coach out there. I think there's things that start to roll one way or the other. A lot of it is chemistry, sometimes relative to what's going on at the moment. But I have a lot of respect for Brady, what he's done, the coach that he is, the man that he is.

"But I also know and am very sensitive to media coverage, I guess you'd say. So it's up and down. It's never as good as you want it and never as bad as you want it. Or it is as it is. I don't know if that's a good quote or not. I wouldn't use that."

Dantonio, who is 5-2 against Michigan and 2-1 against Hoke, then cracked a smile and said: "I just try to concern myself with my little bubble here."

That resulted in a follow-up question: "You don't really have any empathy for them, right?"

"Empathy?" Dantonio said. "I don't know. … I have empathy for people, yeah."

Highlights from MSU coach Mark Dantonio's news conference today

On whether the College Football Playoff is cheapening the regular season: "No. I think a Big Ten championship ring is still going to mean the same thing. It's going to mean excellence in your area, in your league. Beyond that, great things are possible beyond that. But you have to do that first. I think that's the main focus we have to have. We can't say, 'Hey, let's try and go 11-1, not get in the championship game, then we'll get into the playoffs.' I don't think it should work like that. That's just my opinion. … Hopefully the committee sees it like that, too. My vision is you should be a champion of your league before you can be a champion of the country. That would be my vision, if I was doing it. Might not happen like that. But that would be my vision."

On empty seats at Spartan Stadium: "There are certain things you can control, certain things you can't. In this day and age, you see it all over the country. You can go out to the Coliseum in L.A., it's never packed. They have a great program. So across the board, you deal with it. But I'm sure in a couple weeks it will be packed. So with that being said, I appreciate, again, the people who come, appreciate the time and effort that it takes to get here, the amount of money it takes to buy tickets for this place, to tailgate, do all the different things. All I can tell you is Michigan State has been top 25 in attendance in this country for, I think, the last 60 years, or near 60. It is one of those places that are the haves and will always continue to be one of the haves long after I'm gone."

On whether he has ever tailgated: "Does after the game count? Then I've tailgated."

Injury update: MSU offensive line coach Mark Staten said last week he was hopeful that starting right guard Connor Kruse (lower body) would be back for Saturday's game between No. 9 MSU (2-1) and Wyoming (3-1) (noon, ESPN2). But Dantonio said today that Kruse's status won't be known until later in the week.

"I don't want to list him (on the depth chart) right now because it felt like we're really not quite sure," Dantonio said. "But he's close."

There's no word on the status of starting defensive tackle Damon Knox (undisclosed), defensive tackle James Kittredge (lower body) nor tight end Andrew Gleichert (undisclosed). All four of those players missed Saturday's 73-14 win over Eastern Michigan.

MSU-Wyoming connection: Redshirt freshman safety Tim Kamana is a rising reserve who might start this week, Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. He's also the son of a former MSU player. His father, Carter Kamana, was a cornerback who lettered for the Spartans in 1981-84.

"I know there may be some sense of excitement, on Tim's part, that he's going back and playing at his dad's old school," Bohl said of the Honolulu native. "But I think, for the most part, it's gonna be a really big game for all of us here."

Notes: Ed Davis is listed as the starting strongside linebacker even though Riley Bullough started in his place Saturday. Asked about Davis, Dantonio said: "If Ed does what he's supposed to do, he'll start." … Former MSU quarterback Drew Stanton will be MSU's honorary captain Saturday. Stanton has led the Arizona Cardinals to consecutive wins in place of injured starter Carson Palmer. The Cardinals are off this week. … MSU announced that about 700 tickets are still available for Saturday's game. … This will be the third meeting between the schools. MSU beat Wyoming 21-10 in 1976 and 34-16 in 1977. ... MSU's 145 points in the first three games is its highest total ever in the first three games of a season. The Spartans rank sixth in the FBS in scoring (48.3 points per game). Quarterback Connor Cook leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally in passing efficiency with a 189.1 rating.

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.