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96 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED Turnover Machine A loss might end Michigan State's hopes. That's right, only one blemish this season could keep the Spartans from the College Football Playoff, their goal — rightfully so — after winning at least 11 games in four of the last five years. In an attempt to get there, they'll use a familiar formula: Stout defense, an efficient, pro-style offense and sol- id special teams. On the promotion- al circuit this summer, Coach Mark Dantonio said the Spartans have cre- ated a "buzz" with their recent surge. "He was pretty frank that Michi- gan State wasn't happy with going 11-2 and winning the Cotton Bowl," said Paul Konyndyk, who covers MSU for SpartanMag.com, the Rivals site. "They wanted more than that. But at the same time, he is proud of what they accomplished." Since 2011, Michigan State has had one of the country's best defens- es, weathering key personnel depar- tures to continue to put an outstand- ing unit on the field. It'll do so again this season — four former all-con- ference players are on to the NFL — plus a new coordinator. In place of Pat Narduzzi, who is now the head coach at Pitt, Dantonio will use co-co- ordinators, with the duty shared by assistants Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel. They'll have the benefit of coach- ing a veteran defensive front, led by Shilique Calhoun, who made a sur- prising decision to return to East Lan- sing for his senior season. The defen- sive end was a first-team All-Big Ten player last season after having eight sacks but could be more dynamic now with the Spartans intent on featuring him more at their rush end position. Calhoun will have plenty of help on the line, like from Malik McDowell, a freshman All-American who will play nose tackle this season. "I think they're deep, they're going to go with a five-man rotation inside and plenty of guys to rotate outside," Konyndyk said. "The coaching staff doesn't usually mince words and are 9/29 JACKSONVILLE STATE W, 45-7 9/6 at Oregon . . . . . . . . . . L, 27-46 9/20 E. MICHIGAN . . . . . . . W, 73-14 9/27 WYOMING . . . . . . . . . W, 56-14 10/4 NEBRASKA . . . . . . . . . W, 27-22 10/11 at Purdue . . . . . . . . . . W, 45-31 10/18 at Indiana . . . . . . . . . . W, 56-17 10/25 MICHIGAN . . . . . . . . . W, 35-11 11/8 OHIO STATE . . . . . . . . L, 37-49 11/15 at Maryland . . . . . . . . W, 37-15 11/22 RUTGERS . . . . . . . . . . . W, 45-3 11/29 at Penn State . . . . . . . W, 34-10 1/1 BAYLOR . . . . . . . . . . . W, 42-21 Who's in Charge? COACH MARK DANTONIO Record at Michigan State 75-31 (eight seasons) Record vs. Purdue: 6-0 Michigan State End Shilique Calhoun returned for his senior season, hoping not only to improve his NFL Draft stock but to get the Spartans to the College Football Playoff. Michigan State Spartans 2015 OPPONENT PRE VIE W O C T. 3 • S PA RTA N S TA D I U M, E A S T L A N S I N G • T I M E: N O O N • T V: T BA 9/4 at W. Michigan 9/12 OREGON 9/19 AIR FORCE 9/26 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10/3 PURDUE 10/10 at Rutgers 10/17 at Michigan 10/24 INDIANA 11/7 at Nebraska 11/14 MARYLAND 11/21 at Ohio State 11/28 PENN STATE 2014 Results (11-2) 2015 Schedule GOLD AND BLACK'S EARLY LINE: MICHIGAN STATE -16 OF NOTE: Michigan State has recorded 53 wins since 2010, the most in the Big Ten over the last five seasons. The Spartans forced 34 turnovers last season, tying them with Oregon for the third-best mark in the nation. Louisiana Tech TCU Oregon Michigan State 42 40 34 34