Dan Murphy, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Planning for success: Michigan State

Mark Dantonio continues to find solutions to get the most out of his players at Michigan State.

Since their playoff hopes went up in smoke while allowing 49 points to Ohio State, the Spartans have been on fire. They have outscored two lesser opponents 82-18 while allowing a total of 101 rushing yards. The convincing wins will likely help Michigan State return to the Top 10 when the new College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday night. The Spartans have put themselves back on track for a selection committee bowl game.

They've been having a good time doing it, too. While rolling through Rutgers 45-3 on Senior Day, Michigan State narrowly missed scoring on a fake field goal, handed the ball off to a 325-pound offensive lineman for a one-yard gain and let the conference's best receiver play his final home game on defense.

"Those type of things I think keep people on edge a little bit," Dantonio told reporters following the game. "They look forward to those things and make it fun."

The last of those fun gadgets, putting senior receiver Tony Lippett in the cornerback rotation, wasn't intended as a gimmick. He will likely be there again when Michigan State plays at Penn State this Saturday to finish the regular season. Playing Lippett on both sides of the ball was the latest example of a coaching staff squeezing every last drop of potential from a group that is on pace to win as many games as any class that has played before them at Michigan State.

Lippett, who started five games at cornerback in 2011, joined the secondary Saturday to provide a boost to a unit that was burned for 300 yards and three passing touchdowns against Ohio State in its only conference loss in the last two years. The Spartans' defense relies on shutdown cornerbacks to survive on their own in press coverage. At 6-foot-3 with training on defense, Lippett gave his team help in that department.

"I just tried to embrace it, just go out there and have fun, stay loose," he said.

The senior broke up two passes and looked comfortable making an open field tackle early in the game. He was supposed to start on defense, but forgot to take the field when Rutgers got the ball. He rotated through one corner spot with sophomores Darian Hicks and Demetrious Cox during the game. Dantonio expects all three will play again against the Nittany Lions.

Lippett is one of several Michigan State fifth-year players who bounced around the Spartans locker room as younger players before settling into a key role for a team that has a chance to win 42 games in their four years on the field. Lippett and his roommate, running back Jeremy Langford, both did stints on defense before becoming the top playmakers on the nation's sixth-ranked scoring offense.

Last year's class, which brought Michigan State its first Rose Bowl win since 1988, was replete with defensive stars such as linebackers Denicos Allen and Max Bullough and award-winning cornerback Darqueze Dennard. This season has been more of a patchwork effort on that side of the ball. Dantonio and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi have found way to plug talent and experience gaps and sustain success in a way that hasn't been done in East Lansing in more than 50 years.

The growth of players like Lippett, who went from drop-plagued receiver in early 2013 to the Big Ten's leader in receiving touchdown to the school's first two-way started in a couple generation, is a big reason why the Spartans are in line for their second January bowl game in as many years.

And, oh by the way, Lippett also became the fifth Spartan to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season against Rutgers with five receptions and 72 yards against the Scarlet Knights.

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