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Mark Dantonio: At the end of the day you better skin the cat

Michigan State football coach calls for better offense

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State football coach is not pleased with his offense right now.

In their season opener last week the Spartans held the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to minus-73 yards rushing. However, Michigan State still had their problems offensively. It didn't make much of a difference in the 28-7 win, but coach Mark Dantonio knows his offense needs to improve

"At the end of the day, there are only so many ways you can skin the cat. At the end of the day you better skin the cat," he said.

That means the offense has to score, one way or another. That was the big question going into the Tulsa game: How would Michigan State's offense look after they scored just 32 points over the final four games of 2018. Dantonio shuffled roles around among his offensive assistants, making Brad Salem the offensive coordinator.

Michigan State got the ball first Friday and finished a penalty-aided drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brian Lewerke to Connor Heyward. They scored only that one offensive touchdown. The offense failed to take full advantage of great field position in that second quarter, and there was some grumbling from fans at Spartan Stadium at various points in the night.

The Spartans take on Western Michigan on Saturday night in East Lansing.