EAST LANSING -- Mark Dantonio's preseason team chemistry assessments have served as performance prophesies over his years as Michigan State's coach.
He talked up the chemistry before the surprising nine-win season of 2008. He hinted several times at a leadership void before a 2009 season the ended with a 6-7 record and off-the-field troubles.
He gushed about the bond in the locker room before each of the past two seasons, and they yielded a combined record of 22-5 with a shared Big Ten title, a Big Ten Legends Division title and an Outback Bowl win over Georgia.
So the people who cover MSU for a living make sure to get Dantonio's chemistry read several times before a season starts. As of this week, he can best be described as cautiously optimistic.
"Comparatively speaking, you know, when you win close games, when you win 11 games, I'm gonna say the character's great. The chemistry's great," said Dantonio, whose sixth MSU season opens Aug. 31 against Boise State. "So there's a lot of things we have to prove yet. But the feeling among this team is that they work very well with each other, they like each other, they get along, they push each other, and they have fun doing it."
MSU coaches are fighting the positive press clippings battle right now, with offensive coordinator Dan Roushar reminding players last week that "this football team hasn't done anything yet."
The Spartans are ranked No. 13 in both the Associated Press and USA Today polls and Sports Illustrated picked them No. 8. Expectations are high despite the fact that all-time passing leader and three-time captain Kirk Cousins -- the primary cultivator of all that great chemistry the past two seasons -- now plays for the Washington Redskins.
"It's not all the sudden a change for us in that respect," Dantonio said of the preseason attention. "We've been ranked in the top 25 before. We've been ranked coming in in 2009, and we fell out quick. So there's a message to our players, and there's some things to learn from that.
"We've been outside the top 25 and found ourselves in the top 10, in 2010. So I think it's just very important, I keep saying it over and over, that we take it one day at a time."
The players will vote for team captains Thursday, and it would be a surprise if junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell wasn't one of them. The first-year starter's embrace of a vocal role has been a bigger positive than his sharp passing in camp, Dantonio said.
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Dantonio: Too soon to tell if MSU's chemistry passes test
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